THE LOST AND THE BLIND

In Smith’s novel, a high school senior grapples with the fear of what his future holds while dealing with the struggles of living with a drug-addicted mother.

Here, the author of the Kirkus-starred The Magpie’s Return (2020) explores a complex story of how children suffer the consequences of their parents’ actions. Mark Hayes is a 17-year-old who’s about to start his last year of school. He and his mom, Jill, have recently escaped a dangerous man who threatened to kill them, and are staying at a farmhouse somewhere in the Midwest where Jill’s addict friend, Amy, lives. By the end of summer, Mark notes, his mom doesn’t even try to hide it from him when she shoots up anymore. At one point, Amy’s parents take legal custody of her baby after a doctor find drugs in the child’s system. At home, Mark takes care of both adults; at school, he spends his lunches talking to U.S. Army recruiters and wonders what his life will look like after graduation, as he feels trapped in an endless cycle. People know who his mother is, which sometimes puts him in dangerous situations. Smith’s story takes place over roughly a year, but there’s never a lull in the action, and his sentences break apart in unusual and unexpected places to create a constant lyrical flow: “She drives off, and in me, a drowning I hadn’t expected. Open fields beneath an open sky. My house of empty rooms.” There’s also a colorful cast of characters, from Mark’s crew of friends at school—Andy, Derrick, Jason—his crush, Kate Evans, and the many people trying to hurt or help his mother and Amy. Many figures in Mark’s life offer him hope and a chance at a better future, but in the end, it’s up to him to decide to take it.

An engaging and often beautiful work.