Ushered out from his Stockton, California home by his emotionally detached mother and her latest boyfriend, twelve-year-old Sebastien Ranes must fend for himself and travel two thousand miles across the country. He is on his way to live with his grandmother and sister in Pennsylvania. Along the way, he will learn that sometimes caring, guidance and understanding can come from some unlikely people.
Marcus, a fellow bus passenger, is a man who has been neglected more by society than his family. As a young black ex-con, he is not the epitome of the person most would pick as a chaperone for their child's cross country trip. Yet rather than be held apart by their differences, Marcus and Sebastien are drawn together by the things that make us all alike.
Along the way, he acts as both guide and protector, as Virgil was to Dante and Jim to Huck Finn. Imparting his own style of wisdom, he shows Sebastien that, despite the darker parts of the human condition, people can and do care for one another. This is a modern day journey not just from one house to another. This is a journey taken by a young boy into manhood, and by the reader into his world. Like every trip, there are many stops along the way. But this journey differs in the way young Sebastien arrives at his destination. Greyhound is the story of this journey.
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The skin across my face was taut and smooth like plaster. MAY 11, 1981 (STOCKTON, CALIFORNIA)
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(Lake Union Publishing, 13 Aril 2010, ebook, 256 pages, bought from @AmazonKindle)
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This is another one I've wanted to read for ages and forgot I had a copy of. I loved the premise of the book with each chapter spanning a leg of Sebastian's journey away from his awful, neglectful mother towards family he hopes will care about him. I understand the references to Sebastian and Marcus being like Virgil and Dante or Jim to Huck. This book hits all the right spots for me. There are some funny moments during the trip, some sad ones and some pretty dark moments as well. I thought this was a terrific read.
