Word: hankã
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Dates: during 2002-2002
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...later joins some older men in a paintballing expedition that goes suddenly and frighteningly wrong. Throughout it all, he is forced to deal with the complications and hypocrisies of life with only the perspective of his limited years to guide him. Trouble has no need to come knocking; Hank??s own sense of adventure helps him find it with unsettling ease. He is saved only by his quick thinking, dumb luck and, as grudgingly as he might admit it, the wisdom of his elders...
...easy way out in dealing with them. With a few deft strokes, he manages to compress every in-between shade of gray into the dialogue and actions of his characters. Like the state of the world it reflects, good and evil are not always so clear-cut. Part of Hank??s journey of growth entails understanding and dealing with that realization...
...example, homosexuality in Hank is neither sensationalized nor condemned; it is used to impart a message of tolerance. The first lesson is as subtle as a sledgehammer: Hank??s stepmother (whom he amusingly dubs Miss-Perfect-Lady Karen) berates Hank and Jake for casually slinging the word “fag” as an insult. Quivering with righteous indignation, she launches into a stern lecture that lacks impact for all its sincerity. The true lesson comes later when Hank befriends a homosexual couple and experiences the full vitriol of society’s hate and prejudice...
...second novel is called _Jake_ . Jake, Hank??s stepbrother, is sent away to a school called St. Stevens. He makes some mistakes and he winds up in the arms of a school that he ultimately embraces. So _Jake_ changes focus from Hank, a boy with relatively superficial problems, to Jake, who has a whole community surrounding him. And that's the only thing that gives him a chance to survive real tragedies...
...third novel, _Stephie_, Hank??s stepsister, is told by her mother, Miss-Perfect-Lady Karen. You might say that it's a modern female version of the book of Job. _The Gunpowder Trilogy_ hopefully deals with explosive issues, and the Gunpowder River runs through all the stories...