Description

Back Roads by Tawni O’Dell (2000 ed.)

Tawni O’Dell’s Back Roads is a raw, emotionally charged novel set in the coal‑mining country of western Pennsylvania, where poverty, trauma, and responsibility shape every choice. The story centers on Harley Altmyer, a nineteen‑year‑old forced into adulthood after his mother is imprisoned for killing her abusive husband, leaving Harley to raise his three younger sisters on his own.

As Harley struggles to keep his fractured family together, he battles resentment, grief, and the crushing weight of obligation. The novel traces his efforts to protect his sisters while navigating sexual awakening, moral confusion, and the lure of escape from a life defined by hardship. O’Dell portrays the psychological toll of neglect and violence with unflinching honesty, refusing easy redemption.

Written with fierce intensity and dark humor, Back Roads explores themes of class, masculinity, loyalty, and survival in a community where opportunities are scarce and mistakes linger. It is a powerful debut novel about the cost of love when childhood ends too soon—and the difficult choices that shape who we become.

Copyright: Originally published in 1999. This hardcover copy was published by Viking in 2000 with cover art including “Oprah’s Book Club”.

Condition: Good. Used. Vintage.

ISBN-10: 0670894184

ISBN-13: 9780670894185

Dewey Decimal: 813.6