Arby

Pettus paints a vivid picture of Abry, Kentucky; a small god-fearing town made up of seven hills, where the only significance is the fact that Abraham Lincoln’s parents got married there. “Major events in Abry contained a lot of cultural depth. They, in many ways, were the method by which the town itself affirmed its own identity, the way in which it communicated with itself.” 

We experience this town through the eyes of Ed Marsh, a narrator who sees the world so fully, with his interpretations filtered through teenage sensibility. Ed’s narration has some clever moments interspersed through an endless wave of deep introspective thoughts. 

As Ed goes through his days with his parents, friends, and townsfolk; his incredibly observant nature creates detailed profiles of everyone around him and the culture within Abry. “Nothing in life ever truly makes sense anyway, so a lot of the time it’s better just to let things unfold as they may and let it go,” Ed says in one of his many musings, perfectly detailing how the reader will experience his journey. Life happens around him, mostly to others, as he experiences it. We see the highs and lows of high school football, teenage hangs, small-town scandals, pranks, and parties. 

While this is a slice-of-life tale, and nothing terribly exciting happens, events are described with hyper-focus through the lens of an opinionated teen, which adds a level of flare. Through Ed’s eyes, everything and everyone is larger than life. If you imagine taking a meditative stroll through the life of a Kentucky teen wouldn’t be a fruitful experience, pick up this book and be happily proven wrong.

TreVaughn Malik Roach-Carter

Fiction Editor