An extraordinary novel from a rising star, that follows the ripple effects of a tragic shooting throughout a Chicago community from the view of the teachers, police officers, and students impacted
Buddy Mack has been caught in the middle of two worlds at war.
As an English teacher at a South Side, Chicago, high school lauded for its football team, but at risk in every other way, he tries to instill a love of literature. While all of his students face challenges, he's especially concerned with a trio of boys who test him to no end but are full of promise and heart: Zeke, the football star; Truth, the sweet-talking charmer; and Dontell, Buddy's most promising student.
At home, his wife, Chrissy, a successful corporate lawyer, is ready to upgrade to a big house on the North Side and start a family, but Buddy's torn over the implications. And the closest person he has in his life to talk to is Chrissy's little brother, Curtis, a corrupt Chicago cop.
When the two worlds collide in a shocking moment that rocks the school, Buddy has to choose a side and fight for all he holds dear. Hard Times takes stock of what it means to be there for your people whether you want to or not and unflinchingly confronts the American Dream—a moving, engrossing, and necessary read.
Jeff Boyd is the author of The Weight. A former public school teacher from Chicago, he is a graduate of the Iowa Writers' Workshop. He is currently a visiting instructor of creative writing at Pratt Institute and lives in Brooklyn with his partner and child.
“In this riveting, page-turning journey through the streets and suburbs of Chicago, Jeff Boyd delivers a deeply satisfying story with as much, heart, grit and history as the city that its set in. Hard Times brilliantly examines the ideas of goodness, badness, loyalty and masculinity in a way that reminds you of what the novel is for.”—Xochitl Gonzalez, New York Times bestselling author of Olga Dies Dreaming and Anita de Monte Laughs Last
