You could shelve this under Christian fiction, but it wouldn’t exactly fit in with its peers there. This is a coming-of-age novel set in the ’60s. Frank, a 13-year-old boy, must come to grips with several tragedies that happen over the course of one life-changing summer. His father is a pastor, but his mother is barely a believer, and Frank must decide what he thinks about God.

Because Frank’s father is the pastor of a small town, and because the book deals with a series of tragic events, many of the characters question God, reach out to God, and fall on the mercy of God. I appreciate how beautifully this is done. Kreuger deals with this honestly, but (spoiler) the verdict falls in favor of Jesus Christ and his grace. It’s rare to find this in a dude book, and this is most definitely a dude book. Think Leif Enger.

It’s hard to discuss the plot without spoiling it. Kreuger said in an interview in the after-matter of the audiobook that he wanted to write a novel that didn’t follow the tight mystery plot pattern that he uses in his Cork O’Connor series—I’ve only read the first one in that series, and it’s good (if gritty). So, this book has a mystery element, but it’s not a classic mystery. It’s more open and fluid. Frank encounters a loss of innocence, and he must figure out how to move forward in a world where bad things happen to good people and where we can’t simply run away from our problems—because sometimes our problem is “who we are” and we can’t run from who we are.

One of the best things about this book is the wide range of men that Frank is exposed to. You’ve got bullies, drunks, wifebeaters, rich guys, preachers, homosexuals, loners, and artists—and Frank realizes that there’s more to each of these men than the stereotypes they portray to the world.

I did feel like the plot was a tad predictable. I didn’t gasp at any twists. And I felt like the characters were a tad slow to figure things out. But, the book isn’t about the plot. It’s about Frank and his family, and it’s good to know that going in.