Times are tough in the Altmyer family. With the maniacally abusive Mr. Altmyer dead and Mrs. Altmyer serving time for his murder, adolescent, hormone-raging Harley has just inherited the role of caretaker for his three younger sisters. Told from Harley's point of view, this debut novel set in a rural Pennsylvania mining town tells of his experiences as a teenage father figure, a lover of an older single mother, and a primary suspect in a brutal murder.

All those times me and Skip tried to kill his little brother, Donny, were just for fun.

"A strong, thoughtful first novel that hews to time-honored fiction traditions, rooting a voyage of personal discovery in beautifully rendered particulars of character and place."

"[A] potent first novel....Tense, conflicted and involving, O'Dell's novel deftly captures the voice of a teenage boy who's in trouble and facing profound challenges, even if the narrative sometimes feels dramatically inflated to prove its point: that evil runs deep and rooting it out is a difficult, thankless chore."
-- Erik Burns