Concerning & Potentially Concerning Content

This book has a heavy, sad feeling throughout, especially for the age group that it is targeting. Multiple types of potentially disturbing violence appear throughout (child abuse from a cruel father, cruelty to animals, guns). It depicts and addresses bullying, fighting, broken families, visible illnesses, physical oppression and coercion, poverty, death, and a “prophetess” (not used in a Biblical sense). The main character, Rob, and his best friend are bullied and often get into fights or get beaten up for things completely out of their control. Adults involved do nothing to help the situation or completely dismiss it. The main character’s best friend moves into town after her parent’s divorce and deals with her mom’s struggles as well as her own. Marital infidelity is also present. The main character has a severe skin condition for which he is ostracized and is pained by it. An owner of the motel that Rob lives in coerces him into a frightening car ride to feed a tiger. For the children, the tiger symbolizes their existence and they long for freedom for the tiger and themselves. Rob’s dad works at the hotel as a way to pay rent and is worked tirelessly, barely has time to see his son and is living day to day when it comes to food. Rob’s mother dies earlier in the story and it mentioned several times. There is also a fatal shooting. The prophetess is an older woman who works at the motel and dishes out wisdom, describes uncomfortable memories (insinuating abuse), and that things all come to an end. This is a lot of heavy content to deal with throughout for the intended audiences.