After his father dies suddenly and his family’s fortune takes a nosedive, Jonas Shore starts selling weed and pills to cool kids at his Philadelphia high school to support himself and his mother; that is, until his hustle catches up with him and he’s sent away to Lafayette Academy.
As the novel ‘Scorched’ opens, 15-year-old Jonas Shore lies in bed, waiting for his abusive father to leave the house in a flashy red Jaguar. Once the coast is clear, Jonas takes a shower without worrying that his father will indulge his temper and issue an arbitrary order, such as reaching inside the curtain and turning off the hot water.
Jonas maintains a mix of obsession and admiration for his mother, Delia. When his father unexpectedly dies in bed of a heart attack, Jonas feels—at least momentarily—a great weight lifted from his shoulders. He believes himself to be truly liberated until he learns that the family has no money or assets from the business his father co-owned. Adding fuel to the fire, Delia informs Jonas that their house is worth less than the mortgage.
As a result of the rapid turn of events, Jonas supports himself and Delia by selling drugs at school for a brief period until the chief of police confronts him regarding his side business. Jonas is given the option of going to a boarding school for fatherless boys in lieu of arrest and prosecution. In his new environment at Lafayette Academy, far from home, Jonas meets four roommates who collectively promise to take up for each other for the rest of their lives. Their bonds are further forged following the untimely death of Delia.
The young boys scheme and collude together expertly until nearing graduation, when an encounter with a shady character in a trench coat upends their expectations. Retribution ensues, though it’s not altogether clear that there is any proof of a transgression. Nonetheless, a man is dead, and a crime possibly covered up. Harboring their dark secret, the boys go their separate ways into the world beyond the academy.
Twenty-three years later, Jonas is married to a woman named Sheri, living with their two children. Jonas has emotionally driven episodes that his meds help to alleviate – the cause of which is not altogether clear. The year is 1997, and one of the old roommates from Lafayette Academy named Dugie resurfaces – perhaps only to create a bit of mayhem. The novel concludes three years later, in the year 2000, following some nefarious undertakings by Dugie and leading to a moderate sense of closure by Jonas over his troubled past.
The book contains numerous references to the 1970s, including bands, films, and television shows, all offering welcome reminders of an era gone by, manifest mostly as faded memories by folks now in their sixties. While the prose is readable and generally on point, the author’s use of present instead of past tense may distract some readers. Nonetheless, the meandering sojourn of Jonas along unexpected paths toward ambiguous outcomes makes for a solid and entertaining narrative.
Available in Bookstores May 7th
