Review by Booklist Review
Nineteen-year-old Peter is missing. People are saying he has run away to avoid marrying his fiancée, 18-year-old Lily, who is pregnant with their child. But Lily refuses to believe the gossip and determines to find Peter herself. This brings her up against two very different men: the evil Eli, who is also looking for the vanished Peter; and her mother's half-brother, Allan, the uncle Lily never knew she had. A giant of a man, Allan will become her ally and protector, although the stubborn teen doesn't make it easy after some unpleasant truths about Peter are revealed, and knowing them makes Lily even more determined to find him. Her efforts will bring her into Eli's dangerous orbit as readers learn why he is so driven to find Peter and Tisha. Hinkson manages the suspense well in this surprisingly low-key narrative, and the plot--despite some familiar tropes--will keep the pages turning to the rather-contrived ending.
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
At the start of this exceptional tale of crime and courage from Hinkson (Dry County), 18-year-old Lily Stevens, who's 25 weeks pregnant and the daughter of a Pentecostal preacher, walks into the Conway, Ark., police station to report that her fiancé and the father of her child, college dropout Peter Cutchin, has been missing for more than a week. The last time Lily saw Peter, a Friday after school, he was strangely quiet. The police chief learns from Peter's mother that her son has gone to Little Rock and is staying with some friends there, though she doesn't know where exactly. Unable to get help from her family, her church, or police authorities, Lily turns to her unacknowledged uncle, Allan Woodson, a desk clerk at the run-down inn where Peter worked. Allan, an outcast because he's gay, reluctantly accompanies Lily to morally decadent Little Rock in search of Peter. Sharply delineated characters are matched by assured prose. Bigotry and religious intolerance are counterpointed by compassion and reconciliation. This sensitive novel, a parable for today's harsh social conflicts, is not to be missed. Agent: Nat Sobel, Sobel Weber Assoc. (Aug.)
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
