Synopsis
A teen boy narrates the events that take place after he drops out of college.
Publishers Weekly
Cheripko's (Imitate the Tiger) eloquent and compassionate novella (whose title comes from a line in an e.e. cummings poem) portrays the ongoing struggle addicts must face to stay clean. Danny Murtaugh is taking some time off from his prestigious music school after a college romance fails. He spends most of the winter term taking photos in the woods near his home and, on his ramblings, he meets Benji, a friend of his father who died nine years ago ("So this is the infamous Benji... who comes out of the forest about once a month to stock up on a few groceries and lots of booze"). Danny also meets the marksman who "owns" the woods and who inadvertently encourages Danny's photographic pursuits, as well as a young waitress. Through Benji, Danny unwittingly becomes involved in some of the small town's less savory activities. Danny's honest first-person narrative and his conversations with other characters make clear what it takes for him to remain sober. The plot itself may be a bit flimsy, and the real mystery somewhat difficult to discern, but the lyrical details elegantly evoke Danny's inner consciousness as well as a slice of rural life in the Northeast ("Ice. Ice everywhere. A morning stopped solid by ice. Trees bent to the ground, defeated, bowed, humbled by a god of white war"). Cheripko may well instill in readers an empathy and admiration for recovering addicts, who fight their battle one day at a time. Ages 12-up. (Jan.) Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.