One of the Boys

Reading this short but forceful debut novel is like watching a disaster unfold on the evening news. Teens may wish they'd never tuned in, but they won't be able to look away. The story shifts backward and forward in time to reveal how a father systematically gains his two sons' complete devotion to further his own ends. Scheming with the boys to deprive their mother of her custody rights and using them to shield his growing drug addiction, the father knowingly pits the brothers against each other. But his constant demands isolate them from their peers. As their father turns increasingly violent, the brothers have only each other to turn to in their desperation. First-person narration from the younger boy, 12, is effective. His divided loyalties, guilt, and need to please his father in spite of everything are intensely relatable. Though this work moves toward an inescapably bleak climax, its brevity, surprising snippets of humor, and compelling plot make it a good pick for low-level or reluctant readers.