Where Things Come Back

Cullen's devotion to his brother and his family despite the bizarre, absurd events that unfold, and the bond that connects family and friends in spite of everything, are real and tenacious. But a pervasive dysfunction afflicts the entire universe within which this story takes place, and whether there is any point to any of it remains open to question. Good behavior doesn't necessarily get rewarded, nor does bad behavior necessarily have dire consequences; sometimes it appears no good deed goes unpunished.

"F--k," "s--t," and all the usual suspects and permutations, plus the more recent term "ass-hat." Frequent profanity definitely an issue here, but not inconsistent with the way teens actually talk in a lot of places. The language may be less an issue than the novel's overall darkness.

The book starts out with Cullen's druggie cousin on a slab in the morgue. Cullen's best friend Lucas is the golden boy at school, but his secret is that all his family members are raging alcoholics and he's afraid he'll go the way of his older brother, killed while driving drunk. Drinking and drugs are just another dead end in Lily, and not viewed with approval.