This One Time with Julia

Lampson's debut is narrated by an 18-year-old with an Asperger's-like condition and a tenuous understanding of the world. Following the death of their parents, Joe and his brothers raised themselves. Since his fraternal twin, Alvin, abandoned him for a girl named Julia, Joe has frittered away his inheritance on poker games while cutting his GED prep class, eating nothing but McDonald's cheeseburgers, and avoiding his pompous older brother, Marcus. When Alvin returns, he arranges to take a sailing trip with Joe, but then vanishes. Beautiful, anxious Julia soon shows up, persuading Joe to join her on a trip to Tennessee, where Joe finds work as pool boy at Julia's family's hotel. As Joe acquires new life skills and falls for Julia, her family's nefarious nature comes to light%E2%80%94as does the truth about Alvin's disappearance. Refreshingly, Lampson avoids making Joe's condition the story's focus, instead highlighting the emotional isolation of multiple individuals and creating a cinematic effect through well-conceived dialogue, mature characterizations, and a noir-tinged atmosphere. A raw and darkly poignant novel about lost souls. Ages 12%E2%80%93up. (Feb.)