Back Roads: Summary and book reviews of Back Roads by Tawni O'Dell, plus links to an excerpt from Back Roads and a biography of Tawni O'Dell.

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 new talent.

Media Reviews

The Orlando Sentinel A vivid writing style that makes for enjoyable reading.   The Orlando Sentinel A vivid writing style that makes for enjoyable reading.   The San Diego Union O'Dell offers up a remarkable tale.   The Los Angeles Times O'Dell's storytelling has natural flair.   Publishers Weekly O'Dell's scorching tale touches on all the tropes of dysfunctional families, but her characters fight free of stereotypes, taking on an angry, authentic glow.   Kirkus Reviews The dysfunctional dynamics of a family scarred by domestic violence and incestuous longings lead to some luridly melodramatic twists, but the authors compassion and love for her characters shine throughout. When ODells plotting achieves the maturity of her character development, shes going to write a really extraordinary novel. This one is pretty darn good.

Recent Reader Reviews

Rated of 5 by David
Depressing
If you don't like books that start off depressing and end even more depressing, then this is not the book for you. The book is written very well though and it's hard to put down. Throughout the book I was just waiting for Harley to have some self...   Read More

Rated of 5 by lawrence monye
one of the best
I have read a lot of books but this one is one of the best books I have read in all my time, very moving.... am recommending it to everybody

Rated of 5 by LM Hartman
Back Roads
This part of the book summary is so far off the mark, I thought I must have read the wrong book: "Through every ordeal, the unforgettable Harley could never know that his endearing humor, his love for his sisters, and his bumbling heroics...   Read More

Rated of 5 by sasswood
Best Book I have ever read!! Haunting!!!
I read this book 6 years ago and I can not forget. The book haunts my soul.

Rated of 5 by phertyl
Not Convincing Enough
Sorry, but I could tell that this book was written by a woman trying to sound like a man. It just didn't work because I believe it takes a MAN to write about being a teenager/young man. Consquently, I found it rather weak and was distracted from...   Read More

Rated of 5 by Erin
I have read this book about 3 times over the past few years. It's a great book!

...19 More Reader Reviews

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