"Everything breaks if you hit it hard enough."
This third book from Hannah Tinti is intense and raw, like a wound that won't quite heal and you just keep poking at it. Ewww. Hawley, a drifter with a dark, criminal past, and his daughter Loo arrive in a small New England fishing village and try to make a fresh start. But if you've ever read a book before, you know that's not going to happen. The narrative alternates between the present and Hawley's story. Each of his 12 bullet scars (hence the title) gets a chapter. I found Loo far more compelling and thought 12 bullets was maybe 3 or 4 too many. Tinti pitches camp in the gritty, dirty realism school of Carver, Russo, and Dubus, but adds more of a James Lee Burke-like thriller element. A striking read, at the very least.

Desire large print. Mountain park librar. rge print.
Kathy gunville@gmail.com
Thank you
Kathy Kline, 404-213-1448
All small case Kathy gunville@gmail.com

I didn't like this book-thought that the father was totally irresponsible, child endangerment: one thing to live your life on the edge, don't bring a child into it

A widower with a violent criminal past moves into a small Maine fishing town hoping to establish a safe space for his daughter, who gradually learns the stories behind her father's 12 bullet scars. Wash Post 2017 Summer Reading List

While waiting for any of my holds to arrive, I checked out this title in the meantime. A quirky plot, yet held my attention right from the beginning. Recommended.

Is he a sociopath or a loving father? Can a person be both?

This is a compelling, literary novel that deserves all the accolades it has received!

Really? A twelve year old girl puts rocks in her fathers sock, bashes her classmates in the face with it, then kicks them with her steel-toed boots? And in consequence, the principal makes her father and theirs join a club together? Yeah, I don't think so, but thanks anyway.

Not exactly a thriller, but a story built around the 12 bullets that Samuel Hawley, a career criminal, has been shot with over the course of his life; and over the time that his daughter has been born and raised to a young adult. Wonderful writing, literary quality, and a story that moves back and forth over time and place; a story requiring attention from the reader. Highly recommended to anyone who likes both good writing and good storytelling beyond the usual dreck of bestsellers.

Loo and her father have gotten by, despite the death of Loo's mother when she was an infant. Samuel approaches his fatherly duties with an intensity underlined by a willingness to use violence, a trait he earned as a small-time criminal. As Loo beings to piece together her family's past, she gains an understanding of her father, but uncovers a mystery: what really happened to her mother all those years ago?

This novel will appeal to both teens and adults who enjoy a coming of age story punctuated by tension and mystery.

I found the back-and-forth between characters difficult to always piece together. The writing is good but I generally disliked the protagonists.