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Back Roads
enlarge	Author: Tawni O'Dell Publisher: Signet This item is currently not available. Please choose a related item or try again later. Rating: 357 reviews Format: Kindle Book Media: Kindle Edition Pages: 416 Number Of Items: 1 Dewey Decimal Number: 813.54 ASIN: B000OCXHAE Publication Date: January 1, 2001


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Editorial Reviews: Amazon.com Review Oprah Book Club® Selection, March 2000: Not since S.E. Hinton (The Outsiders) has a female novelist penned such a tough and titillating portrait of lower-class, crime-ridden manhood. Set in "beautiful, ruined" western Pennsylvania, amid Eat n' Parks and Lick n' Putts, Tawni O'Dell's Back Roads follows Harley Altmyer as he walks a raging, self-conscious line between crime and innocence. Why is he being held by the authorities, and what's he so mad about? In the recent past, it's his mother, who murdered his father and went to jail for life. In the far past, it's Dad himself: an abusive, hopeless man. In the present, it's the responsibility for his three younger sisters, which makes him fantasize about smashing their faces in until they "spit up bloody macaroni and cheese." But Harley still has a conscience--barely. He doesn't strike his sisters; he's been trying to protect them. The oldest is sassy Amber, 16, who's having sex on the living-room couch with townies who abuse her; next is frighteningly stoic 12-year-old Misty, with eyes "a glazed brown like a medicine bottle"; the youngest is adorable Jody, who at 6 pens to-do lists with items such as "PRAY FOR DADDYS SOWL." Overburdened with the practicalities of life, and the ever-mounting losses, Harley has started seeing his own words floating in the air in front of his face. "CLOSURE. TRUTH. MOST GUYS." This first novel opens well. O'Dell does an impeccable job of making Harley both brutal and forgivable. Here, for instance, he retreats to his basement room: "I lay there until dawn, thinking about Dad, and feeling the same useless frustration I had felt the first time I had seen him piss on a sparkling white drift of pure new snow." But that delicacy is soon lost, and Back Roads risks becoming an overabundant affair, pitched high, with a roller-coaster trajectory. Harley's anger metamorphoses into an almost bloodthirsty lust for his sexy, middle-aged neighbor, which stirs up myriad forbidden family secrets. Misty, it turns out, has been hiding something. Amber revolts. And even Jody's scribbles turn malevolent. While the writing is good throughout, the tension and plotting assume an unpleasant adolescent posture--bodice-ripping passion and mordant gloom combined. Nonetheless, O'Dell's assured and touching portrait of her protagonist emerges unscathed. You will likely remember luckless, fated Harley Altmyer long after his tsunamic tale has receded. And no matter what the judge decides, you will understand why this impoverished, angry young man was probably the most innocent one of all. --Jean Lenihan Product Description Meet Harley Altmyer. His mother's in prison for his father's murder. At nineteen, he's raising his three younger sisters-and he's just developed an obsessive crush on the sexy, melancholic mother of two, living just down the road...

Customer Reviews: Showing reviews 1-5 of 357 1 2 3 4 5 6 ...72 Next » Depressing, Dull Characters June 20, 2010 A. Luciano (Lowell, MA United States) Harley's father abused him and his three younger sisters for as long as he can remember. It was a tough way to grow up. Even tougher, though, is his life now. His mother is in jail for murdering his father, and Harley is nineteen and working two jobs to scrape together the money to support himself and his sisters. He is drowning in his life, constantly on edge, and resentful of the mother who put him in this situation. There is one bright spot in Harley's life--his new relationship with the mother of his youngest sister's friend. It isn't ideal. Callie is married and they have to hide their love affair from her husband. It is the only thing keeping Harley sane, though, and only just barely. When Harley starts to piece together bits of the tragedy that landed him in this position, he finds that sometimes the truth is simply more than he can bear. The basic premise of this story is interesting, but I found the characters dull and depressing. Harley doesn't have anything in his life that gives him pleasure except sex with Callie, and even that is tinged with darkness. His sisters seem constantly on the verge of something horrible, but when the truth comes out, it wasn't a huge surprise. It was only surprising that Harley failed to recognize it for so long. Disturbing, But Couldn't Stop Reading!!! May 19, 2010 Carol S. Keen (Virginia) 1 out of 1 found this review helpful I am an adoptive mom of two beautiful foster children. I have seen first hand the effect of abuse and neglect on children. I found this book to be very disturbing, but most of it rings very true to life for many children in this country. The children in this story are trying to survive in the only way that they have been taught. They seek love, acceptance and pleasure and unfortunately they have been taught horrible ways of acquiring these basic needs. Many readers have voiced their repulsion of the graphic detail in which this author describes the actions of these children. I found these descriptions to be very disturbing, but necessary to show the long term detremental effects to abused children. As a mother of four children, I found the behavior of the mother to be the most disturbing. The father was a mean and horribly abusive man who deserved to be shot, but the mother was also involved by letting the abuse happen. The story does reveal that she had been saving money to leave her husband, but I am very doubtful that she had planned to take the children away with her. She seems to be content with her life in prison where she does not have to care for her children. Neglect and indifference is sometimes just as harmful to children as physical abuse. I found myself thoroughly engrossed in this book and unable to put it down. It wanted to step into the lives of these children and help them to survive. I am the oldest of four sisters and am still very protective of my younger siblings, especially the youngest. I will remember this story for many years and would encourage everyone to pick this book as a must read. Twisted and Damaged May 10, 2010 R. Lewis Twisted and damaged, but I couldn't put it down. Haunting story of family secrets. Great book. Back Roads April 4, 2010 Nicole Wilson, Author of "Undressing Chickens" and "The Callie Gang". (Seattle, Wash., USA) A highly twisted and intensely emotional novel, full of abuse, tear jerking events, sex, violence, and phycological events that will make you wonder how things can get this unbelievably bad for one 19 year old teenager and his 3 sisters. Deep down, Harley is a good person, and he is trying very hard to do the right things, taking care of all the things his parents should be taking care off, raising his 3 sisters and keeping his family together after his mother was put into jail for murdering their abusive father. He is overwhelmed with all the responsibilities but keeps on trying and doing the best he can to survive. Harley finds relief from all the pressures of life in sexyal encounters with an older woman, which causes problems when his sisters find out about it. His drinking and lack of sleep has ill effects on his his clear perception of his situation and his thinking, but he always tries to protect his sisters and make it through the next day alive. I felt like reaching out to Harley, who needs help in the worst way. Although far from being a perfect person, Harley quickly finds a way into your heart and one has to feel sorry for his predicament, wanting to ease his troubles. He is a strong person in his way and portrays an excellent lead character in this story. The strong personalities of the sisters also fill the story with excitement, intrigue, and at times utter helplessness. The engaging story makes this book hard to put down. I found myself disgusted and deeply disturbed at times, but was unable to stop reading. I had to know what happened next and would Harley make it. Horrible Book April 4, 2010 cntrydaze (Citrus Heights, CA United States) 3 out of 5 found this review helpful I believe this book was the most depressing one I've ever read. I saw no light at the end of the tunnel and couldn't figure out why someone would write a story with absolutely no redeemable characters. Everyone in this mess is completely screwed up from either domestic abuse, incest, lies, irresponsibility, poverty, desperation, mental illness, you name it. I only finished it to see where it ended and hoped like hell SOMEONE was going to get a happy ending but alas, no. Read this book only if you like reading about non-stop misery and unhappiness. Showing reviews 1-5 of 357 1 2 3 4 5 6 ...72 Next »

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