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"With wit and realism, David Haynes presents a different kind of Holden Caulfield in fifteen-year-old Marshall Field Finney, an ordinary, sullen teenager who discovers storytelling as a way to ease his adolescent anger and family tensions. Living with his parents in "Washington Park,'' a housing development outside St. Louis, Missouri in the 1980s, his high-strung mother walks out on him and his father, a flawed yet strong man who manages the local landfill. Marshall's two best friends, one show more Black and one white, are his only allies, as they navigate school and family life together. Through these relationships, Haynes poses Marshall's universal questions about his place in his community and what's next in his life. Ultimately, Marshall's story proves that people take care of each other, families take care of others, and a boy finds his own resilience to become a young man"-- show lessTags
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Member Reviews
Haynes' debut novel is spoken through the voice of Marshall Field Finney, a young man whose cynical view of family and friends will make you laugh as he struggles to come to terms with the absurdity and uncertainty of his life. He is only a sophomore in high school, yet is suddenly coping with the sudden departure of a mother he was previously determined to ignore and is suddenly sharing living space with a father who had previously been the object of his testosterone-driven resentment.
The storyline sounds grim, but the author keeps us laughing at Marshall's predicaments and rooting for his ability to figure it all out. Haynes successfully describes the neighborhood characters and Marshall's closest friends to help us understand how show more much support he actually has. Who Marshall actually learns is right by his side is revealed at the very end of the book, and will probably not be the obvious or your initial choice.
This is one that will make you smile from beginning to end, and should not be labeled as exclusively young adult material. Humorous fiction is always for the young--and the young at heart. Haynes always makes sure his novels are weighty enough to satisfy both. show less
The storyline sounds grim, but the author keeps us laughing at Marshall's predicaments and rooting for his ability to figure it all out. Haynes successfully describes the neighborhood characters and Marshall's closest friends to help us understand how show more much support he actually has. Who Marshall actually learns is right by his side is revealed at the very end of the book, and will probably not be the obvious or your initial choice.
This is one that will make you smile from beginning to end, and should not be labeled as exclusively young adult material. Humorous fiction is always for the young--and the young at heart. Haynes always makes sure his novels are weighty enough to satisfy both. show less
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Author Information
14+ Works 278 Members
David Haynes teaches creative writing at Southern Methodist University in Texas and in the Warren Wilson MFA Program for Writers.
Awards and Honors
Distinctions
Series
Common Knowledge
- Canonical title
- Right By My Side
- People/Characters
- Marshall Field Finney; Sam Finney; Rose Finney
- Dedication
- For my family, who have always be right by mine.
- First words
- I'm a very dangerous boy.
- Last words
- (Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)If only I'd known. Instead: "Come on," Sam says. "Come."
Classifications
Statistics
- Members
- 45
- Popularity
- 659,543
- Reviews
- 1
- Rating
- (2.67)
- Languages
- English
- Media
- Paper, Ebook
- ISBNs
- 7
- ASINs
- 2
