If you admire the stark, gritty writing of modern authors like Denis Johnson and Mary Robison, you’ll want to check out John Brandon’s Citrus County. In Citrus County, Brandon (Arkansas) employs his token dark humor and tightly-woven narrative to tell the story of deeply troubled middle schoolers living in a small, Florida town. Toby, the central male character, is an eighth grader who commits an atrocious crime to get closer to Shelby, his love interest. Toby’s crime does bring him closer to Shelby, but it also warps their lives forever. Adults reading the book will be horrified and intrigued by Toby’s behavior–as Bookslut reviewer Janet Potter writes, “There are no latent feelings in Toby and Shelby. Every emotion or impulse is immediately weaponized.” Like the characters themselves, Brandon’s book is dark and unpredictable, and it will draw you in. Keep reading to see what the reviewers are saying, and take a look at the Rumpus’s review in comic form.
“Brandon’s unflinching look at the devastated inner life of his characters is so unerring that it’s hard to look away.” – Janet Potter, Bookslut
“What is so remarkable is that ‘Citrus County’ does not turn its back on its first 30 pages. The novel of rural adolescent longing carries on as though it is not also a crime novel, and the crime novel tightens its grip on characters who would really rather tighten their grip on one another.” – Daniel Handler, New York Times
“Brandon’s dry wit, dark imagination, and surprisingly big heart combine to reveal a Florida that, despite (or because of) being more Ted Bundy than Disney World, is absolutely worth visiting.” – Publishers Weekly
“Brandon draws his characters so deftly that we can be horrified and intrigued by them at once, and his plot just as deftly avoids cliches.” – Colette Bancroft, St. Petersburg Times
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