At 22 years old, the Kid doesn’t have a lot going for him at the moment. A loner by nature, he doesn’t have any friends, he barely finished high school, and he’s never even kissed a girl. After being kicked out of the army, he gets arrested for meeting up with a minor he met on the internet, and is now on parole. As a registered sex offender, he’s not allowed to live within 2500 feet of any school or day care center, or frequent areas where kids might congregate, and he’s not allowed to use the internet. He’s also not allowed to leave the county, and in this busy area of Florida, that doesn’t leave him a lot of options. So, he’s set up camp under the Causeway with his six foot long iguana, in the only place in the area that’s isolated enough to allow him to obey the law, and still be able to get to his job.
The camp is populated by other offenders who’ve sought refuge there as well, and their ragged encampment makes the townspeople very uncomfortable. After a raid on the camp makes the news, the Kid is approached by the Professor, a larger than life college professor who claims to be doing research on sex offenders and homelessness and maybe help the camp’s residents improve conditions so that the authorities will lay off. Although sceptical, the Kid slowly begins to trust the Professor, and accepts his help.
When a hurricane blows through, the encampment is endangered, and in the wake of the storm, there is more than physical damage to deal with. The Professor has been keeping some secrets, and when they are revealed, threaten to topple the Kid’s already shaky foundation.
Although it’s a really tough subject, Mr. Banks has crafted an amazing tale. The character stories are revealed one layer at a time in a way that makes you want to keep reading. And he while he doesn’t excuse the Kid’s behavior, heck, even the Kid knows he was acting like a dumb ass, given the back story, you can see how the Kid landed here, and at the end, you feel hopeful and heartbroken for him, all at the same time.
Cookie's Books 