An incredible story of a boy whose childhood consisted of being dragged around the US midwest by his single mom, living in off-grid communes, hippie farms, and new-age wacko towns. It shows how the mom's sincere but sincerely wrong belief can lead to a wasted life and needless self-inflicted grief. She had been raised with strong anti-government bias, and spent too much energy trying to escape from the clutches of what she believed was the evils of government, corruption and capitalism in "the system."
The book tells the story of the boy Josh watching his mother being abused by a shyster father figure who came into their lives and basically destroyed what was a peaceful coexistence with his mom. It reflects on Josh's coming of age and his increasing self-awareness of how life actually is. Josh ultimately has more courage within him than he originally believes and he finally takes matters into his own hands and chases the asshole out the door. The story also shows the brutality and bully instincts of school kids who have absolutely no class, and reveals a Lord Of The Flies world of violence, classism, and potential murder which exists closer to each of us than we think. Ultimately the book is a story of triumph and extremely inspiring to me.
