This relatively new book by first-time author Audrey Shafer is a realistic trip through a difficult loss inside the head of a confused but astoundingly honest young man.  It is also a short, easy, and “sticky” read that doesn’t want to be put down.  It’s almost a one-sitting kind of novel.

Gable (but his friends call him “Gabe”) is a strange young man who has bounced around to many different foster homes, until ending up with his unusual uncle Vernon.  Vernon is an amputee and a Vietnam vet; he speaks in a delightful mix of regional dialect and coarse wisdom; he scrupulously avoids all contact with people and resents being forced to get a telephone.  Vernon and Gabe have spent three years together, and Gabe has officially been adopted by his uncle, when Gabe returns from his first day of sixth grade to find his uncle dead on the floor.

Gabe’s first reaction is disbelief, then fear.  He knows that his uncle’s death probably means that he will return to the foster care system, and his experiences have not been good.  He falls asleep with his uncle’s corpse, and he wakes up terrified and unsure what to do.  At some point, he decides to go to school.  When he returns, his uncle’s body is gone.  In the rickety old mailbox at the end of his uncle’s property, he finds a note.  “Do not be afraid,” it says.  In the beginning, Gabe thinks he has a fairy godmother.  The reality is quite different.

With the help of this mystery friend, Gabe survives for months on his own, though he never meets the man he comes to know as “Smitty.”  He does, however, acquire a magnificent friend when Smitty gives Gabe his dog, Guppy.

Shafer’s characters are intricate and interesting, with healthy helpings of jarring awkwardness – a necessary part of any middle school experience – and accidental, simple sweetness – an equally necessary element.  Some of the descriptive language comes across as amateurish or forced, without the simple subtlety of the best writers.  Careful, convincing dialogue more than makes up for the awkward descriptions, and the interesting stew of local color that makes Vernon so delightful, as well as the tortured honesty that almost wrenches Gabe apart, makes this novel a delightful, engaging read.

This book should be read for the simple story that it tells in fresh, straightforward ways, about honor and character.  And, doggone it, Vernon is just the right mix of grouchiness and cuddliness.