Teenaged Jesse is trapped. Growing up, he had all the potential in the world, but then real life intervened. Now he’s got a high school diploma, two perpetually black eyes, and a pill fix he can’t shake. By day, when he’s not high on pain killers, Jesse is hardening his body; it’s the only thing about his life that he can really control. By night, he’s a god in the makeshift ring under the barnyard flood lights, willing to take on any local tough the Madsen brothers put in front of him. Most of Jesse’s fights don’t last more than a minute or two. But as competition in town dries up, the Madsens go looking for better fights and bigger risks – with the chance for bigger payouts. Even as Jesse’s home life is closing in on him, he must find a way to win one more fight.
It’s the only chance he’s got.
This story was short but it was pretty intense.
It was also quite inspiring for a future book I’m writing but that’s a story
for another day.
We meet Jesse who is poor and needs to save up
some money for his sick grandmother. Also, battling with an addiction, he
learns to fight. He realizes that it’s one of the only things he’s able to
control. But the more he fights people in his town, the less opponents he has
as he pretty much fights anyone who’s willing to take him on. While he’s
hardened up, broken and bruised, the money starts rolling in and he can’t stop.
His grandmother’s medical bills aren’t cheap.
Jesse’s sister hates seeing him this way and
does what she can to make it so he can stop fighting. I liked the twist at the
end. It’s a desparate time, calls for desparate measures kind of situation.
This book was definitely short but I liked the
author’s descriptive story telling. It was like I could see Jesse’s fights and
what he looked like after the fact. I do wish the book was a little longer but
that’s just me and doesn’t take away from the story at all.