Fragile beasts: a novel - O'Dell, Tawni
Summary: Presents the story of brothers Kyle and Klint, whose precarious lives in Pennsylvania coal country are further challenged by their alcoholic father's death, until they are taken in by a septuagenarian curmudgeon with a tragic past. - (Baker & Taylor)
Booklist Reviews
Their father was a notorious drunk; their mother, a self-absorbed shrew who callously abandoned them for life with another man. After their father is killed in a senseless accident, teenage brothers Klint and Kyle Hayes face being returned to their mother's custody against their will. For Klint, the move to Arizona would mean sacrificing his attention-getting baseball career at the height of the college and pro-scouting season. For sensitive and artistic Kyle, holding onto the only home he has ever known is essential to making sure his brother achieves the success necessary to free them both from the oppression of their small, western Pennsylvania mining town. Salvation comes in the unlikely form of Candace Jack, a wealthy and reclusive elderly woman who is persuaded to give the boys a home, and herself a second chance to feel love again. In this tough and tender tale, O'Dell's triumphant portrait of loss and rejection, sanctuary and redemption, shines with poignancy, dignity, and transcendent joy. Copyright 2010 Booklist Reviews.
