Hick

January 1, 2007
Portes's chilling debut tracks a 13-year-old Nebraska girl's hard-going life on the road. Young Luli knows losers—her "aging Brigitte Bardot" mother, Tammy, and her father, Nick, go at each other every night at the Alibi, the watering hole in hometown Palmyra, Neb. Tammy runs away one morning, and Nick soon follows, leaving Luli alone at home with the Smith and Wesson .45 her Uncle Nipper gave her. Pistol in tow, she hitches rides heading west to Vegas. A crooked man (literally; he "looks like an italic," says smart-alecky Luli) named Eddie picks her up briefly before throwing her out of the car. Next comes cocaine-snorting grifter Glenda, who enlists Luli as an accessory to a robbery that goes awry. Glenda takes Luli under her wing. The two cross paths again with Eddie, who rapes Luli and ties her up in a secluded motel. Glenda comes to her rescue, but the confrontation with Eddie ends badly. Luli's flippant narration makes for a love-it or hate-it read.

July 1, 2007
Adult/High School -"Hick" is 13-year-old Luli McMullen's heartbreaking tale of growing up in an alcoholic household in rural Nebraska. The teen narrates her picaresque coming-of-age story in an authentic voice, liberally sprinkled with grammatical errors, Western accents, and creative profanity. The short chapters, well-drawn characters, and natural-sounding dialogue give the book a cinematic atmosphere. The somewhat nonlinear narrative alternates between Luli's action-packed adventures hitchhiking toward Las Vegas and introspective flashbacks that provide details of her home and school lifeawkward adolescence exacerbated by poverty. When readers meet her, Luli is an observer, describing her parents and their neglectful ways without a trace of self-pity. By the third chapter, she realizes that she has the power to make a man's eyes go "swirly," so she decides it's time to run away and find herself a sugar daddy. She packs her Smith & Wesson 45, steals her mother's stash of cash, and hits the road. Luli is real and likable; her honesty, insecurities, and coping mechanisms will have readers rooting for her throughout the story. "Hick" is filled with difficult themes: sexual exploitation, unsavory adults, drug use, and poverty, but Luli keeps her chin up and embodies the human will to survive. This is an ultimately hopeful story that will appeal to teens who like problem novels and contemporary realistic fiction."Sondra VanderPloeg, Tracy Memorial Library, New London, NH"

Copyright 2007 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

May 15, 2007
First-time novelist Portes, a Los Angeles nightlife columnist, tells a coming-of-age story no one should have to live through. Thirteen-year-old Luli is used to spending time in bars with her parents in rural Palmyra, NE, and friends calling know to try the number at the bar first. Drink three or four, everyone is best friends. Five: everything gets quiet. If you're smart, you'll get out before drink seven. One night, after an ugly scene around drink ten, "Uncle" Ray steps in to take Luli home and comes on to her in the car. That sets her packing her bag and hitting the road to Las Vegas. But not all drivers have strictly altruistic motives when picking up young hitchhikers, and her trip quickly deteriorates into an episode of sexual bondage. At least Luli lives to tell the tale, something that can't be said of all those involved. The book covers just a few short weeks but has enough experiences for several lifetimes. Portes's fresh voice and compelling story will appeal mostly to Gen Xers, Yers, and Millennials. Recommended for public libraries.Debbie Bogenschutz, Cincinnati State Technical & Community Coll. Lib.

Copyright 2007 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.