Candy canes, and pinecones and epic and awesome! Epic and awesome pretty much sums up how I feel about this book! This was my first foray into TJ Klune’s work and I LOVED it! It starts out with Ox as a kid when his dad tells him that people will give him shit all his life and then leaves him and his mom. Ox quickly grows up feeling like he needs to be “the man” of the house and gets a job at Gordo’s garage. On the way home on his 16th birthday he meets the little tornado that is Joe. Joe is recovering from being kidnapped and didn’t speak to anyone, until he met Ox. As the families get closer and life goes on, there is a lot of pain, especially the day the man who kidnapped Joe comes back and people die.
Joe and his brothers, along with Gordo end up leaving for 3 years to hunt down that man, eventually returning, but is it too late?
When I got this book, I was initially concerned (I had previously read some negative reviews) but the audio book was on sale so I figured “Why not?” This book has so much in it. It’s a story about a boy who grows into himself, with friendship, family, love, hate, pain sorrow and so much more! The writing is not a style I have come across many times, but it truly fits the way that that the book feels, especially with the audiobook. I cannot wait for the remainder of the series!!!