Too Shattered for Mending

by Peter Brown Hoffmeister

Overview

“The missing link between Looking for Alaska and Winter’s Bone.” —Jeff Zentner, author of The Serpent King. 

“A portrait of the heart and will that's so tragic and beautiful it singes. . . . Enough to launch a thousand of those tweets that say 'I'm not crying, you're crying.'" —The New York Times Book Review

“Little” McCardell is doing all he can just to keep it together after the disappearance of his grandfather “Big” and the arrest of his older brother, JT. He’s looking out for his younger cousin, trying to stay afloat in school, working in the town graveyard for extra cash, and in his spare time he's pining after Rowan—the girl JT was dating until he got locked up. When the cops turn up asking questions about Big, Little doesn’t want to get involved in the investigation—he's already got enough to deal with—but he has no choice. Especially not after the sherriff's deputy catches him hunting deer out of season and threatens to prosecute unless he cooperates.

Soon Little finds himself drowning in secrets, beholden to the sheriff, to JT, to Rowan, and to Big’s memory, with no clear way out that doesn’t betray at least one of them. And when Little’s deepest secret is revealed, there’s no telling how it could shatter their lives.

“A powerful and uncompromising story . . .You will not soon forget Little McCardell or his unwavering spirit.” —Kathleen Glasgow, New York Times bestselling author of Girl in Pieces
 
★ "A story that is more than the sum of its parts. Proof that even in the darkness, there can be light." —Kirkus Reviews, starred

“A gritty gem of a book.” —David Arnold, New York Times bestselling author of Mosquitoland and Kids of Appetite

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780553538076
Publisher:	Random House Children's Books
Publication date:	09/12/2017
Pages:	384
Product dimensions:	5.60(w) x 8.30(h) x 1.30(d)
Lexile:	HL680L (what's this?)
Age Range:	14 Years

About the Author

PETER BROWN HOFFMEISTER is the author of the critically acclaimed YA novel This Is the Part Where You Laugh, as well as the adult novel Graphic the Valley and a memoir, The End of Boys. A former troubled teen, Hoffmeister was expelled from three high schools, lived for a short while in a Greyhound bus station, was remanded to a recovery and parole program, and completed a wilderness experience for troubled youth. He went on to become a high school teacher and founded the Integrated Outdoor Program, serving teens of all backgrounds, taking them into wilderness areas to backpack, climb, spelunk, orienteer, and whitewater-raft. He lives with his wife and daughters in Eugene, Oregon.
 
Follow him at @peterbrownhoff.

Read an Excerpt

late october

in the wilderness

I know the smell of pine loam moldering in the fall.

Watch a coyote hunt a house cat in the Chinese cemetery.

Native rainbow trout shake their heads at a 1⁄8 Rooster Tail spinner at midday, swallow it come evening.

I know that Rowan loves JT, even after he beat her.

the wanderer

Rowan smells like water. I told her that once. I said, “You smell like an eddy.” I was thinking of the North Fork of the Clearwater. The backcountry runs, rocks and pools, clean enough to see the trout cut to shadow.

Rowan was drinking a Monster in front of the Mini-­Mart. She said, “A what?”

She’d sliced the knees out of her jeans, scissored them way back to the side, and I kept looking at all that exposed skin.

I said, “Like an eddy on the river, when you wade in. You know?”

“When I wade in?”

“To fish,” I said.

She tilted her head, and the hair she’d pulled up bobbed to the left. “So I smell like a fish?”

“No,” I said, “not like a fish. You smell like an eddy.”

She smiled, already shaking her head, laughing at me.

I said, “Messing with me, huh?”

It was last school year. I was a freshman then, a year younger than her. I’d gotten more work in the cemetery and I imagined that I’d take her out, do something nice for her. Rowan was with JT but I tried to ignore that.

Rowan finished her Monster and threw the empty down on the cement. “I’ll see you around?” she said, and made a fish motion with her hand.

Editorial Reviews

"A portrait of the heart and will that's so tragic and beautiful it singes. . . . Enough to launch a thousand of those tweets that say 'I'm not crying, you're crying.'" —The New York Times Book Review

"Proof that even in the darkness, there can be light."—Kirkus Reviews starred review

"[Hoffmeister's] characters are complex and authentic, and his subtle, stripped-down writing changes the narrative in startling ways as the story unfolds and more details come to light."—Publishers Weekly starred review

"A dark, somber novel with an endearing heart and a captivating protagonist."—School Library Journal, starred review

"A powerful and uncompromising story about survival, loss, fear, and what happens when hope is only the bleakest sliver of light. You will not soon forget Little McCardell and his clan, or his unwavering spirit." —Kathleen Glasgow, New York Times bestselling author of Girl in Pieces

"As beautiful and brutal as a winter storm, Too Shattered for Mending is the missing lInk between Looking for Alaska and Winter's Bone." –Jeff Zentner, author of The Serpent King

“A gritty gem of a book.” —David Arnold, New York Times bestselling author of Mosquitoland and Kids of Appetite
 

From the Publisher

Too Shattered for Mending is as spare as a bird in a bare tree, but it's cathartic, not depressing. Little's struggle with dyslexia alone—he places a red transparency over schoolbooks to make the page clearer—is enough to launch a thousand of those tweets that say, "I'm not crying, you're crying." In the end, you realize that what Little needs, what we all need, is a red transparency to put over the world itself so that life and love aren't so hard.

The New York Times Book Review - Jeff Giles

Life is unraveling for Little who, at sixteen, is living alone in a trailer trying to look out for his young cousin, Willa, whose parents are strung out. The constant adult figure in his life, Big, is missing, and his older brother is soon to be released from a stint in county. Things get worse for Little as a deputy sheriff catches him on a poaching charge. Willa has asked him for some meat as the food supply is running low. This prompts Little to shoot a doe out of season. In exchange for turning a blind eye to the crime, the sheriff has given Little a few weeks to come up with information on the whereabouts of Big. Drugs, booze, and bad choices abound. Yet, somehow, amazingly, Little tries to stay true to his moral compass, help those in need, and hold on to a shred of hope. The brief chapters are revealing snippets into the life of this small Idaho town and the struggles of the people within it. The sparse writing compliments the novel beautifully. It is depressing and desolate. Little tries to hold onto normalcy, frequently struggling with his math homework while everything else is falling apart around him. A similar foil is drawn between his two love interests as Zaydie is dealing with angsty problems with her parents while Rowan is spiraling toward tragedy. Jumps in time help give a broader picture of Little and the whereabouts of Big as the truth slowly emerges. Reviewer: Erin Wyatt; Ages 15 to 18.

VOYA, August 2017 (Vol. 40, No. 3) - Erin Wyatt

★ 09/01/2017
Gr 10 Up—Gavin "Little" McCardell is fighting to keep his world from unraveling. Little's older brother JT is serving time in prison, and Rowan, JET's girlfriend, is cozying up to Little. Little's aunt and uncle oscillate between being neglectful and abusive toward his 10-year-old cousin Willa, prompting Little to try to at least keep both of them fed. Finally, when Little's grandfather, "Big" McCardell, disappears without a trace and the local deputy threatens Little with incarceration in an attempt to discover Big's whereabouts, the young man's frayed world threatens to tear apart completely. Hoffmeister's follow-up to This Is the Part Where You Laugh, moves with a slow rhythm. Most chapters average two to three pages, detailing small moments, such as Willa's wise observations, or Rowan's routine visits to Little's trailer home, between longer chapters with bolder consequential events. Little's world becomes tangible over time, as the setting and characters quickly fill with depth and believability. These factors coalesce into a novel with a powerful, and oftentimes profound impact on readers. The work deals with family and abusive relationships, as well as drug use, making this more appropriate for older readers. VERDICT A dark, somber novel with an endearing heart and a captivating protagonist, this excellent title is recommended for libraries with fans of realistic fiction.—Matisse Mozer, County of Los Angeles Public Library

School Library Journal

★ 2017-05-10
When 16-year-old Little McCardell's grandfather disappears, it is up to him to clean up the mess that's left behind. Hunger, violence, drugs, and hopelessness haunt the citizens of his impoverished Idaho town. But Little is determined to break free from his family's legacy. Desperate to find stronger roots, he even begins learning Spanish in hopes of feeling closer to his estranged Mexican father. He is determined to graduate and find a way to care for his young cousin, but his dyslexia is a constant battle. When an obsessed sheriff's deputy begins asking questions about his grandfather's whereabouts, Little must dig for information or risk becoming entangled in a dangerous world. Drugs, abuse, child pornography, casually crude language, drinking, and rape orient readers to the ample challenges that Little faces. But the unfolding mystery, lyrical language, and empathy for the characters make Hoffmeister's a story worth investing in. Little's determination, passion, and genuine love for the broken people in his life keep this narrative from falling into despair. Short chapters, a sparse setting, and evocative characters combine to create a story that is more than the sum of its parts. Proof that even in the darkness, there can be light. (Fiction. 14-adult)

Kirkus Reviews