Back Roads

By: Tawni O'Dell

Narrated by: Andrew Eiden

Harley Altmyer should be in college drinking Rolling Rock and chasing girls. He should be freed from his closed-minded, stricken coal town, with its lack of jobs and no sense of humor. Instead, he's constantly reminded of just how messed up his life is.

With his mother in jail for killing his abusive father, Harley is an orphan with the responsibilities of an adult and the fiery, aggressive libido of a teenager. Just nineteen years old, he's marooned in the Pennsylvania backwoods caring for his three younger sisters, whose feelings about him range from stifling dependence to loathing. And once he develops an obsession with the sexy, melancholic mother of two living down the road, those Victoria's Secret catalogs just won't do the trick anymore. He wants Callie Mercer so badly he fears he will explode. But it's the family secrets, the lies, and the unspoken truths that light the fuse and erupt into a series of staggering surprises, leaving what's left of his family in tatters. Through every ordeal, the unforgettable Harley could never know that his endearing humor, his love for his sisters, and his bumbling heroics would redeem them all.

Funny and heartbreaking, Tawni O'Dell's pitch-perfect characters capture the maddening confusion of adolescence and the prickly nature of family with irony and unerring honesty. Back Roads is a riveting novel by a formidable talent.

©2001 Tawni O'Dell (P)2015 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

A tad too dark & hopeless for me

This is well-written and offers insights into the lives of children who grow up physically and emotionally abused. I listened to the end, because the story is compelling and the narrator mostly sympathetic, but had to stop often and turn to music. I can't say I enjoyed this - too dark! - but that's a very personal experience.

Wow!!!!

I could not stop listening I loved the authors writing style and will be checking out more of her books! This was a dark emotional read so beware if that is not for you!!!! Narrator is one of my favs!!!

Quite the Story

This was a story I could not stop listening to, yet at times it was very disturbing. The narrator did a fantastic job with this! The characters were very complex, he handled the protagonist perfectly. It was sad story and it made me wonder how many families go through such extreme emotional conflict. The actual situation’s may be different but there are often families who encounter very similar situations and undergo the feelings and choices that these children did. It’s well worth the read, and I’m glad I did it via audio because they did a great job!

part 2 please

I liked this book. sometimes it was hard to follow because you didn't know the time of things but I think it was supposed to be like you were in his brain. BUT I want a part 2. haha

Not what I expected

Not what I expected, but I got sucked in and listen to the whole thing. It is very dark difficult to read but a well written story.

Dark Book!

very disturbing book, but well written and very sad this story is no rainbows & butterflies . Well written book.

excellent

I found this book in thrift store when I was in middle school. it was amazing to be able to revisit it in adulthood. this is a book that reaches the parts of us that we might not be ready for, but so need.

An unexpected twist

This book reassured me that I must be doing pretty well as a parent. While it can get disturbing at times, I felt like I really got to understand what could happen to kids dealing with any type of abuse. Your emotions go on a but of a roller coaster throughout the story, and then the plot twist hit and I didn't see it coming.

I found the book to have the perfect level of detail in all its descriptions, and great pacing. The narrator also did a great job with the tone and changes between characters.

kind of dark

I like the story. It was difficult at times though. It's the type of story that makes you say, what would I do? Could I survive?

This Book could be a trigger for some!!

Good Book, the content is difficult and breaks my heart. As much as I hate to admit it I could see a story just like this on One of those crime shows.