Set in rural North Carolina in the 1950s, 18-year-old Rowen Hart is forced to grow up fast after his father kills himself and his mother has a nervous breakdown. The problem is, Rowen has lived a life of extreme privilege and doesn’t really understand what being an adult means. In the meantime, his mother and her long-time housekeeper Adeline take in 10-year-old Eden, who has been kicked out of her house by her mother after testifying against her uncle in court.
This book opens in a courtroom where Eden is called on to testify against her uncle for killing her father. (When I started this book, I was worried that it was just another courtroom drama focused on racism in the south in the mid-century — complete with lots of use of the n-word and good old Southern boy attorneys, but it quickly veered away from this.) The negative feelings against her from everyone in the courthouse, including the judge and her own mother, are obvious but also obvious is Eden’s extreme sense of standing up for what is right, even when she has to struggle to make sure she survives.
This is quickly juxtaposed against Rowen’s character, who seems to have been living in his own little bubble his whole life, somehow oblivious to the racism and sexism in his community and is shocked that people no longer respect his family after they become poor. Rowen is very self-centered even as he sees himself as making lots of sacrifices for his family and as he consistently turns his back on Eden, putting her in extreme danger, while never recognizing his responsibility. It seems like the author is trying to show him struggling between doing what’s right and wrong, but it’s clear that he will consistently do what’s best for himself.
Even at the end when it appears that the author is making an attempt to redeem him, it’s just not enough. Overall, while Rowen (and Eden) are both interesting characters, we see them make bad decision after bad decision with neither of them ever learning or growing from their mistakes. Even so, while the characters frustrated me and it was a sad novel, they were much more human than many characters, and I still enjoyed reading this book for its literary merit.
Disclaimer: I received an e-galley of this book from NetGalley and Pronghorn Press in exchange for my honest review. It has not influenced my opinion.