The book opens in the 1970s in Winship, Massachusetts, a middle-class suburb of Boston. The narrarator is Timmy O'Kane. The book follows Timmy and his friends through the last year of high school, college, and then work and family life. The friend who is the center of the book and Tim's life is Billy Mogavero, who deviates drastically from the life path that his friends have chosen. The character development was excellent with lots of nuances, and the story has some shocking twists. Midway through the book, though, the story begins to deteriorate, and Timmy turns into a whiner with no backbone, and the reader is questioning what Tim is getting out of his relationship with Billy. But this reader kept on going, hoping for a big payoff at the end, which never comes. So overall, a disappointing read. ( )

Engaging story of five childhood friends growing up in an Italian neighborhood. Story revolves around one of the gorup--an on again-off again hoodlum. Really a story about what makes people happy and whether a middle-class lifestyle does the trick. ( )