BOOK REVIEW
In Ollman’s novel, a Black teenager confronts racism and past grudges after moving into a new community with a
grandfather he never knew.
When Alex Fetter is 15 years old, his father takes off from their home in Minneapolis and leaves a note telling him to find
his grandpa in rural Silver Bay, Minnesota. It’s a major shock for Alex; he lost his mother three years ago, and he’s never
met his grandfather before. He moves to the new town, but he’s not used to living in the country; he’s also one of the only
Black residents in a community of mostly white people. His grandfather, a cranky elderly man named Alan Fetter, takes
him on a hike to help him decide if he really wants to stay. “If you’re expecting some all-wise old man, you’ve got another
thing coming,” adds Alan. Soon, Alex meets Shainya Begay, an Anishinaabe girl, and they hit it off immediately. What
seems to start as a story of two young people of color in a racist society takes a sudden turn halfway through when the pair
gets kidnapped; it quickly becomes a suspense yarn as residents of the town race to find the two missing teenagers. The
novel’s genre is hard to pin down; there’s the complicated will-they-or-won’t-they relationship between Alan and a woman
named Tuola (the pair had dated previously but haven’t spoken in five years); there’s the budding romance between Alex
and Shainya, and the difficulties they have with some fellow students at school; and there’s the short-lived confidence
scheme near the end that never gets a chance to take off. Ollman meticulously wraps up the stories of every character and
resolves every plot point, which will appeal to some readers. But because so many things are happening at once, some of
the resolutions don’t feel very realistic or satisfying.
An often entertaining, if sometimes disjointed, read that’s hampered by excessive subplots.
Books by JJ Ollman 