Riggle, a 17-year-old boy, lives with his uncle and uncle's girlfriend after the death of both of his parents. His uncle has gone missing, probably on a drug binge. With rent due, Riggle must try to put together the $800 in a matter of days. The novel follows him over the course of a week, each day a new chapter marked by a quasi-myth about how the days got their name, a story Riggle's mother told him after the death of his father. With amazing directness and insight, Carr explores what it's like to be a high school kid post-Parkland, the persistence of racism in town like Opioid, the appeal of Trump — a concise portrait of white despair in the time of an opioid epidemic. It is a a sharp, empathetic, heartbreaking (and at moments, hopeful) portrait of America today.

• 4.99'' W x 8'' H x 0.65'' D
• Written by Brian Allen Carr
• Publisher: Random House
• 224 pages