Lawn Boy by Jonathan Evison

 Mike Munoz may have a Hispanic name, but he was born in the US and doesn't speak Spanish. His dad left when he was just a boy and he and his mom have struggled to care for Mike's disabled brother while making ends meet ever since. The one thing Mike is good at is lawn care.  When he gets fed up with a vindictive boss and quits the only lawn service company in town, he starts an epic journey to find gainful employment and his place in the world. 

I read this book because it was the second most banned book last year.  It was one of the titles that was under particular attack from the groups of "concerned parents" who harassed libraries for secretly harboring pornography on their shelves. There is a lot here to complain about.  The language is full of F-bombs and lewd sexual references. There is also discussion of an instance from Mike's childhood when he and another boy experimented with oral sex. Despite all that, I actually enjoyed the book.  The language was authentic, and the book gave me a peak into a lifestyle that is ubiquitous in the US but is totally foreign to me.  It helped me see what a struggle it is, if you are from a certain class and raised a certain way, to ever even see yourself as someone who could be successful in life. Evison managed to create a character, that, despite his disadvantage, doesn't give in to the temptation to use dishonestly to get ahead, even when it would have been very financially advantageous. Mike is just not willing to "sell his soul to make the dough." Even though the "Christian Right" is all up in arms about this book, I have hardly read a story that demonstrated the "light of Christ" better than this one. (2018, 320 p)