Play Book Tag discussion

When Frankie Budge was 16 years old, a new boy (Zeke Brown) came to stay with his grandmother for the summer in Coalfield, Tennessee. Coalfield was a small, rural town back then (1996). Frankie first met Zeke at the town's public swimming pool during a greased watermelon contest. This was the start of the summer that would change both of their lives.

Frankie lives at home with her single mom and triplet brothers (all teens). She is introverted, moody, and has no real friends. Frankie thinks of herself as a budding author and is writing an "evil" Nancy Drew book. Zeke is sensitive and artistic. He thinks of himself as a budding artist. Both teens have absent fathers.

The author captured what being a teen in a small, southern town feels like. Both Frankie and Zeke feel self-conscious and weird. They experiment with kissing, but don't go beyond this. What fuels their imagination is creating an artistic poster with a mysterious message:

"The edge is a shantytown filled with gold seekers. We are fugitives and the law is skinny with hunger for us."

This becomes Frankie's mantra and obsession. Soon, she and Zeke make copies and anonymously plaster the posters all over town. What can go wrong with such innocent fun? I'll leave this to other readers to find out.

I had earlier read Wilson's collection of short stories and considered them as too edgy for me, Tunneling to the Center of the Earth: Stories. I found this novel to be edgy also, but with more warmth and insight.


*For those who want to understand the author better, I've included this interview with him. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M25bQ...

So glad to see you enjoyed it too, Holly!

Thanks, Joy. What a unique book!

I loved hearing Kevin Wilson read his interview, and that felt so alive to me too. I loved hearing his thoughts and process.

I also loved Nothing to See Here by Kevin Wilson, also in audio. That was in my Top Ten the year I read it.

Your review was perfect - I think that phrase will stay in my mind forever.

Thanks, Amy. I'm happy that you enjoyed the interview with Kevin Wilson. At age 45, he can still remember what it was like to be a teen in the South. (I'm glad to forget my own teen years! ;0)