Review: Outcasts
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 03 11, 2013
"I killed someone."  So starts WINTERTIDE, a novel about a young man's life, primarily during  winter break during his sophomore year at college.  (While I was reading the book, I was halfway ready to kill his hovering mother, but she wasn't the victim.)In the book Daniel Hiller, whose career is a true crime writer, looks back at his high school years, especially his long-time relationship with Seth Cooper and their relationship with the town bad boy, Eddie McKenna, whose abuse from his father was ignored by everyone.Dan doesn't like living in South Seaport on Cape Cod.  While it was a major tourist attraction in the summer, he found it very boring the other nine months of the year.  His parents didn't seem to get along with each other.His mother doted on her only child, treating him like a small child.  His father was rarely there and didn't communicate much when he was.  He decided to go to college in Boston, become a lawyer; and rarely come home for more than a day or so.He didn't understand why his parents stayed married to each other.  "If two people are unhappy with each other, they should get divorced rather than live the rest of their lives being miserable," he told his mother.  She responded, "If you're not prepared to make a lifetime commitment, then you just shouldn't [get married]."His plans (a place to stay and a job) for staying in Boston that Christmas fell apart at the last minute.  He was able to get a job near his home so he went home instead.  While there, he met up with Seth again, though their friendship had fallen apart during their senior year of high school.  Through Seth, Eddie was back in the picture.  The encounter would affect him the rest of his life.During the story, he examines how the way people are treated by their parents influences how they treat other people and react to situations.  His parents were supportive of him.  Seth had to meet certain conditions to get anything he wanted.  And Eddie was beaten.  While the relationship between Seth and Eddie seems unrealistic, it may be very possible for boys at their age.Dan also learns more about his parents' relationship with each other.WINTERTIDE was well-written and kept my interest even though I figured out who he would kill and how he would do it rather early in the book.This was a free Kindle download from Amazon.