One of the Boys

One of the Boys is set in a rural Southern town. Case Parnell's coming-of-age is framed by the wisdom of Atticus Finch (To Kill a Mockingbird). Case anticipates a world based on fairness. Disabused of this keystone belief by his parents' divorce, his life is traumatically altered by a football injury and further scorched by a mindlessly cruel comment from a coach. Case enters adulthood adrift.Through subsequent years, though his morality remains intact, his perpetual struggle with self-expression leaves him questioning the purpose of his life. Uplifted by his few close relationships, Case battles to retain hope and to remain true to himself, refusing to let someone else define him. Ultimately, he comes to respect the life he has compared to one he once tried to imagine.