Wrecked

January 1, 2022
In this romantic thriller set against a backdrop of dangerous drug activity in the woods of Kentucky, two teens fall hard for one another while a third loses his way. First-person narration alternates among three main characters in this winding, twisty mystery. Smart, thoughtful, mechanically inclined Miri yearns to escape her charismatic but strange father, who is a large-scale producer of crystal methamphetamine. She meets newcomer Fen, who's moved there from Detroit to live with his dad, and is instantly drawn to him. This new relationship is deeply troubling to Clay, a slightly older friend of Miri's family who has been on his own since his mother was sent to prison for cooking meth. The off-the-grid compound replete with huge gardens, free-range chickens, and menacing dogs where Miri lives is vividly imagined, providing a solid anchor for this contemporary story of troubled relationships and first love. Fen's affinity for recording natural sounds as an art form is a captivating detail that helps flesh out the immediate connection between him and Miri. Readers will know early on that there's more to his family's backstory than is being revealed but may not suspect everything. An afterword by the author references Shakespeare's The Tempest, but readers need not be familiar with it to be pulled in by this novel. All characters are White. An intense story of love, friendship, and family that takes unexpected turns. (Fiction. 14-18)

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April 18, 2022
As romantic as it is gritty, Henson (The Whole Sky) explores familial obligation and new beginnings in this explosive thriller recalling William Shakespeare’s The Tempest, set amid a Kentucky opioid crisis. Sixteen-year-old Miri and her father, Poe, live isolated in the backwoods of predominantly white Kentucky. Poe and Miri used to bond over motorcycles, but now Poe’s meth dealing causes a rift between them. Miri’s only companion is Poe’s glorified errand boy Clay, 19, whom he took in when Clay’s mother was incarcerated for cooking meth, but Clay and Miri’s tenuous friendship becomes strained when she rejects his romantic advances. Desperate to get away, Miri plans to head west the moment she turns 18, but that’s before she falls for newcomer Fen, 17, from Detroit. As their feelings intensify and Fen’s DEA father starts snooping around Poe’s meth outfit, Miri must decide if her need to protect her family outweighs her need for a fresh start. The alternating perspectives of Miri, Clay, and Fen create a multilayered experience, highlighting their respective lives in impoverished Kentucky and each character’s individual longing for escape and security. This love story packs a powerful punch, boasting suspense and edge-of-the-seat action. Ages 12–up.

Starred review from June 3, 2022

Gr 9 Up-"Good father" does not usually fit the stereotype of a meth dealer, but Poe Duchin is both. He's a gardener, a chef, and a motorcycle mechanic as well-all skills he's passed on to his self-sufficient daughter Miri, who both loves and doubts him. She sees his potential for violence. Dogs growl at anyone who ventures down the long driveway to their home in remotest Kentucky, and although Poe taught Miri how to shoot and respect guns, he always keeps a Smith & Wesson 45 tucked under his shirt. The drugs are a secret, he thinks, but she knows-and resolves to leave in a year, when she's 18. Fen Kingston, a smart new kid from Detroit, falls hard for Miri after their first motorcycle ride together. Their crush interrupts the fantasies of Clay, the 20-year-old son of a drug-addicted mother whom Poe rescued from a miserable childhood. He's in love with Miri, but works for Poe, unfortunately discovering Miri and Fen together while patrolling the property. Miri in turn hides quite a bit from Fen, but Clay's downward spiral is what, potentially, could kill them all. This book is a sharply observed page-turner and a departure for Henson, whose previous YA novels concerned the famous thoroughbred horses of her beloved Kentucky, rather than the hidden recesses of its opioid crisis. Main characters are white. VERDICT A suspenseful story of love and violence set in the backwoods of Kentucky's methamphetamine trade.-Georgia Christgau

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