About this item
Fifteen-year-old Pearl is squatting in an abandoned boathouse with her father, a disgraced college professor, and two other grown men, deep in the swamps of the American South. All four live on the fringe, scavenging what they can—catfish, lumber, scraps for their ailing dog. Despite the isolation, Pearl feels at home with her makeshift family: the three men care for Pearl and teach her what they know of the world. Mason Boyd, aka “Main Boy,” is from a nearby affluent neighborhood where he and his raucous friends ride around in tricked-out golf carts, shoot their fathers’ shotguns, and aspire to make Internet pranking videos. While Pearl is out scavenging in the woods, she meets Main Boy, who eventually reveals that his father has purchased the property on which Pearl and the others are squatting. With all the power in Main Boy’s hands, a very unbalanced relationship forms between the two kids, culminating in a devastating scene of violence and humiliation.
About the Author
Jon Pineda is the author of the novel LET'S NO ONE GET HURT, winner of the 2019 Emyl Jenkins Sexton Literary Award/Library of Virginia Literary Award for Fiction.His other works include his debut novel APOLOGY, winner of the 2013 Milkweed National Fiction Prize and his memoir SLEEP IN ME, a B&N Discover selection, a Library Journal "Best Books of 2010" selection, and a Publishers Weekly "Indie Sleepers" pick. His poetry collections include THE TRANSLATOR'S DIARY, winner of the 2007 Green Rose Prize for Poetry, BIRTHMARK, winner of the 2003 Crab Orchard Award Series in Poetry Open Competition, and LITTLE ANODYNES, winner of the 2016 Library of Virginia Literary Award in Poetry. A member of the low-residency MFA program at Queens University of Charlotte, Jon directs the creative writing program at William & Mary.
