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Content snapshot
Flag an inaccuracy →What's in this book, at a glance — five things readers want to know before they start.
Violence
A lot
The novel converges on a single act of violence at a party, foreshadowed for hundreds of pages, plus the sustained low-grade cruelty of teenage boys toward a developmentally disabled peer
Language
Very heavy
Hate speech is the book's actual subject — misogynist, racist, and homophobic talk among adolescent boys, Westboro's placards, and the weaponized fluency of competitive debate
Sexual Content
A lot
Teenage sexual experimentation, adult infidelity, and sexual abuse are all part of the picture Kirkus and other reviewers describe under the heading of toxic masculinity
Substance Use
A lot
Teenage drinking and drug use around the party culture that frames the central incident
Emotional Intensity
Very heavy
Mental illness runs in several directions at once: Adam's migraines and aura after a childhood concussion, his mother's harassment by misogynist callers, and Darren's untreated deterioration
What this book is about
Adam Gordon is a debate star in 1990s Topeka, the son of two psychologists at a famous clinic; Darren, a troubled classmate on the edge of the group, commits the act of violence the novel is quietly building toward. Kirkus describes a book about "violence, betrayal, and mental illness," with Fred Phelps and the Westboro Baptist Church recurring in the background and Adam feeling complicit in what Darren does. Other critics note Lerner's reluctance to reproduce directly the misogynist, racist, and homophobic speech of young white American men — and his interest in the moment a boy trades words for hitting. Pulitzer-finalist in 2020, and thematically adult throughout.
Notes for sensitive readers
Reader-flagged moments and themes that may affect your experience.
Homophobic, racist, and misogynist speech central to the subject matter
A violent assault by a mentally ill teenager
Bullying of a developmentally disabled peer
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