WILD AND CROOKED

In three voices and six “acts,” Thomas’ (When Light Left Us, 2018, etc.) latest plumbs the prejudices behind a murder that divided two families and their Kentucky town.

What’s in a name? Plenty. Gay, feminist Kalyn-Rose Spence’s surname is synonymous with poverty and being targeted for harassment; the residents of Samsboro (aka “Shitsboro”) never forgave her father for murdering a local golden boy decades earlier. But is he guilty? Wealthy, “gay and confused” Gus Peake, who has cerebral palsy, two moms, and a “glorious menagerie of issues” including aphasia, feels doomed to be “the disabled kid” or “the kid whose dad got murdered.” When their pasts threaten their budding friendship, Shakespeare-inflected, uber-analytical classmate Phil tries to “keep Capulets and Montagues from clashing” as he struggles to develop a conscience despite his anti-social personality disorder. In alternating perspectives, the trio endeavor to forge their own identities as they seek clues that may reveal Gus' father's real killer. The mystery resolves in a last-minute rush, but the book’s real stars are its poignantly explored issues: love, social class, sexuality, homophobia, and the cycles of poverty and abuse. Kalyn’s conflicted, loving relationship with her dad is particularly well-examined. However, the teens’ heavy-handed exposition and discussions of fictional tropes and their subversion risk making their characters feel as “manufactured” and “intentionally offbeat” as the teen-targeting goth store Gus browses in, marring their refreshingly intersectional diversity. Most characters default to white.

Thought-provoking.