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In the country-noir tradition of Winter's Bone meets Breaking Bad, a savage and beautiful story of a young man seeking redemption—a finalist for the Edgar Award for Best First Novel.
The area surrounding Cashiers, North Carolina, is home to people of all kinds, but the world that Jacob McNeely lives in is crueler than most. His father runs a methodically organized meth ring, with local authorities on the dime to turn a blind eye to his dealings. Having dropped out of high school and cut himself off from his peers, Jacob has been working for this father for years, all on the promise that his payday will come eventually. The only joy he finds comes from reuniting with Maggie, his first love, and a girl clearly bound for bigger and better things than their hardscrabble town.
Jacob has always been resigned to play the cards that were dealt him, but when a fatal mistake changes everything, he’s faced with a choice: stay and appease his father, or leave the mountains with the girl he loves. In a place where blood is thicker than water and hope takes a back seat to fate, Jacob wonders if he can muster the strength to rise above the only life he’s ever known.
“Remarkable...This isn’t your ordinary coming-of-age novel, but with his bone-cutting insights into these men and the region that bred them, Joy makes it an extraordinarily intimate experience.”—Marilyn Stasio, The New York Times Book Review
“Lyrical, propulsive, dark and compelling. Joy knows well the grit and gravel of his world, the soul and blemishes of the place.”—Daniel Woodrell
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Creators
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Publisher
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Release date
March 3, 2015 -
Formats
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OverDrive Listen audiobook
- ISBN: 9781101888193
- File size: 216490 KB
- Duration: 07:31:01
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Languages
- English
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Reviews
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January 5, 2015
North Carolina memoirist Joy (Growing Gills) sets his gripping first novel in his native Appalachia. Jacob McNeely, the 18-year-old son of a meth-addicted mother and a sociopathic father who operates a drug ring, has always believed he can’t transcend his roots. But when his childhood sweetheart, Maggie Jennings, graduates from high school, she asks him to leave the mountains with her, and he begins to envision a life free of his family legacy. Threats to his father’s business provoke violence, however, ensnaring Jacob in murder and betrayal even as he plans his escape. Despite his recreational drug use and propensity for violence, he has a capacity for selfless love that will keep readers invested in his struggle. Some Appalachian clichés and repetitive descriptions don’t detract from the tragic, absorbing plot. Engaging characters, a well-realized setting, and poetic prose establish Joy as a novelist worth watching. Agent: Julia Kenny, Dunow, Carlson & Lerner Literary Agency. -
Narrator MacLeod Andrews's mild Southern accent and youthful tone are a perfect match for the 18-year-old protagonist of this dark, violent audiobook. Jacob McNeely feels trapped in his Appalachian hometown, where his father reigns as the local meth king. Jacob's only solace is in helping his ex-girlfriend escape the hardscrabble life there, no matter the cost to his own future. Andrews's performance keys into the rhythm and emotions of the story, especially the disenchanted mood of Jacob's inner observations of his family and community. As the boy becomes more entangled in the horrific underbelly of his father's world, however, Andrews increases the tension, bringing Jacob's anger and frustration to the forefront. Listeners are in for a riveting and surprising journey. C.B.L. © AudioFile 2015, Portland, Maine
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