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In a scruffy desert town in 1978, twelve-year-old Ares Ramirez lives in a trailer with his mother and younger brother. In this desolate, forgotten place, government fighter planes and helicopters make training runs by night using live ammunition. When an anonymous dead body floats in from the sea, Ares, on the cusp of his adolescence, is inspired to enact elaborate fantasies of mortal combat. But it is his troubled family that makes Ares a casualty of a different kind of war. His brother, Malcolm, is mentally handicapped, and his mother, distrusting authorities, chooses not to do anything about it, leaving the burden to Ares to protect his vulnerable brother from a world that sees him as “a retard.” As he fights to define himself and to see a future for himself outside of the suffocating box of his home, Ares befriends a dangerous older kid, and what was once play becomes terrifyingly real as violence changes his life forever.
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Reviews
"Malcolm's autistic symptoms render him uncommunicative, which poses a tremendous challenge for Brick, as Silver chooses to portray Malcolm's mannerisms and behaviors mostly through Ares's reflections. Yet Brick rises to the occasion, with compelling results. Brick delivers especially heartfelt performances as the two principle female characters…[A]s the action transforms from preteen angst to dar
Publishers Weekly
"Scott Brick's narration of this beautifully written novel turns it from an ordinary coming-of-age story into a soulful dirge…Brick's performance brings just the right touches of melancholy and self-pity to Ares, highlighting his confusion, fury, longing, and hope. A fine YA or adult offering."
AudioFile
"A moving narrative about a troubled young boy and his struggle to find himself…Silver writes with wisdom and compassion about family ties and the difficulties of growing up. The California desert, barren yet beautiful, which she so vividly renders, provides a haunting backdrop for this unforgettable work of fiction."
BookPage