The Weight of This World

Starred review from January 16, 2017
Appalachia provides the evocative setting for this tale of a brutal world filled with violence and drugs from Edgar finalist Joy (Where All Light Tends to Go). After a tour in Afghanistan as a soldier, Thad Broom returns to North Carolina more damaged than when he left, unable to forgive or forget what he did there. With nowhere else to go, Thad settles in his dilapidated trailer down the mountain from his mother, April Trantham, who, he knows, has never loved him and is pursued by her own demons. Thad reestablishes an aimless life with his best friend, Aiden McCall, who at age 12 saw his father shoot his mother dead. The two friends suddenly have a windfall of drugs and cash after witnessing the accidental death of their drug dealer. But neither Todd nor Aiden is capable of climbing out of his self-imposed rural prison. Lyrical prose, realistic dialogue, and a story that illuminates the humanity of each character make this a standout. Author tour. Agent: Julia Kenny, Dunow, Carlson & Lerner Literary Agency.

February 1, 2017
If there's a trailer on the cover, someone's snorting meth inside, or cooking itor, here, making it via the shake 'n' bake method and proving the author didn't do his research by watching Breaking Bad. Joy (Where All Light Tends to Go, 2015) sets his second novel in the hills around Little Canada, North Carolina, among people and places he evidently knows well. Aiden and Thad are mid-20s ne'er-do-wells damaged by early tragedy and parental neglect: Aiden is out of chances and trying to flee, while Thad, psychically scarred by service in Afghanistan, seems willing to self-destruct right where he is. The plot focuses on some suddenly and horrifically acquired meth, cash, and pseudoephedrine, followed by a violent spiral of events incited by spectacularly bad decision-making. Joy neither condescends to his characters nor excuses them but simply depicts them amid the crushing poverty and natural beauty of their environment. With prose as lyrical as it is hard-edged, he captures men still pining for childhood and stunned to find themselves as grownups with blood on their hands. Joy is one to watchand read.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2017, American Library Association.)

October 1, 2016

Joy broke out in 2015 with Where All Light Tends To Go, which received an Edgar nomination for best first novel. Here he continues his distinct brand of literary noir with the story of Afghanistan-haunted veteran Thad Broom; his mother, April, herself burdened by a long-held secret; and Aiden McCall, who's close to them both. After witnessing the accidental death of their drug dealer, Thad and Aiden end up with lots of ill-gotten drugs and funds and head out on a meth-facilitated road trip to nowhere.

Copyright 2016 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Starred review from February 15, 2017

Aiden McCall was orphaned at age 12 when his father shot his mother, then killed himself. After Aiden bounces around among various orphanages in the mountains of western North Carolina, Thad Broom, Aiden's best friend, convinces his mom, April, to adopt Aiden. Years later, after many scrapes with the law as a result of the boys' drug use, Thad joins the U.S. Army to escape his hardscrabble, dysfunctional life, while Aiden's juvenile record keeps him at home with April. When Thad returns after his deployment in Afghanistan, he resumes his substance abuse to cope with the horrors he witnessed. Unfortunately, April cannot help her son, as she is dealing with her own demons. The trio find their lives forever transformed after Thad and Aiden witness the accidental death of their drug dealer. VERDICT Readers of Southern grit lit will enjoy Joy's excellent sophomore outing (after Where All the Light Tends To Go), which is both dark and violent. Ron Rash aficionados will appreciate Joy's strong sense of place in his vivid depiction of rural Appalachia. [See Prepub Alert, 9/12/16.]--Russell Michalak, Goldey-Beacom Coll. Lib., Wilmington, DE

Copyright 2017 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

February 15, 2017

Aiden McCall was orphaned at age 12 when his father shot his mother, then killed himself. After Aiden bounces around among various orphanages in the mountains of western North Carolina, Thad Broom, Aiden's best friend, convinces his mom, April, to adopt Aiden. Years later, after many scrapes with the law as a result of the boys' drug use, Thad joins the U.S. Army to escape his hardscrabble, dysfunctional life, while Aiden's juvenile record keeps him at home with April. When Thad returns after his deployment in Afghanistan, he resumes his substance abuse to cope with the horrors he witnessed. Unfortunately, April cannot help her son, as she is dealing with her own demons. The trio find their lives forever transformed after Thad and Aiden witness the accidental death of their drug dealer. VERDICT Readers of Southern grit lit will enjoy Joy's excellent sophomore outing (after Where All the Light Tends To Go), which is both dark and violent. Ron Rash aficionados will appreciate Joy's strong sense of place in his vivid depiction of rural Appalachia. [See Prepub Alert, 9/12/16.]--Russell Michalak, Goldey-Beacom Coll. Lib., Wilmington, DE

Copyright 2017 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.