Demon Copperhead

Oh what a beautiful ride this book was.

“My people are dead of trying, or headed that way, addicted as we are to keeping ourselves alive.”

Coming of age Americana with my favorite kind of character (self-hating, down on his luck, boy with a heart of gold). Inspired by Charles Dickens' David Copperfield, it is a study on class inequality in the modern US from a point of view rarely explored, rural Appalachians. Touching and full of heart as it is of tragedy. I personally am tragedy averse so I had anxiety reading through a lot of this book, expecting the worst, but this is far from tragedy porn. It is a story of perseverance and love.

Set in the mid-to-late 90's up until the early 2000's, Demon Copperhead tells the story of the titular character's life from his unfortunate beginnings, to his turbulent and violent ejection into young adulthood, to his stumbling missteps into his approximation of adulthood. He isn't alone in this journey, he has friends who come and go, a family who equally supports and rejects him, and many people both with good intentions and bad surrounding him. The story itself, told in first person with Demon's own words and memories, is later revealed to be his recovery journal as he recounts where it all went wrong in his road to the straight and narrow.

It ends on a high and hopeful note leaving the characters' future open just how we readers of his story have always wanted for him.

Gorgeously written. Realistic and heart-wrenching characters. A distinct voice. 5 stars no notes.