Hoppergrass — Chris Carlton Brown

It is 1969, and Bowser has arrived at The Hill, an institution for delinquent teenage boys. No one is doing much to protect the boys who find themselves there, but Bowser doesn't expect to stay long. He thinks he might be crazy (and others agree), so he'll probably be off to the nuthouse soon.

When one of the boys is killed in an accident and it looks like Bowser's friend Nose is going to be made a scapegoat for the death, it's up to Bowser, crazy or not, to stand up for the truth.

With language that combines the gritty and the truly graceful, Chris Carlton Brown's debut novel is heartbreaking and unforgettable.