From Publishers Weekly
Portes's chilling debut tracks a 13-year-old Nebraska girl's hard-going life on the road. Young Luli knows losers—her "aging Brigitte Bardot" mother, Tammy, and her father, Nick, go at each other every night at the Alibi, the watering hole in hometown Palmyra, Neb. Tammy runs away one morning, and Nick soon follows, leaving Luli alone at home with the Smith and Wesson .45 her Uncle Nipper gave her. Pistol in tow, she hitches rides heading west to Vegas. A crooked man (literally; he "looks like an italic," says smart-alecky Luli) named Eddie picks her up briefly before throwing her out of the car. Next comes cocaine-snorting grifter Glenda, who enlists Luli as an accessory to a robbery that goes awry. Glenda takes Luli under her wing. The two cross paths again with Eddie, who rapes Luli and ties her up in a secluded motel. Glenda comes to her rescue, but the confrontation with Eddie ends badly. Luli's flippant narration makes for a love-it or hate-it read.
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Review
'
Hick is a terrific and addicting read. It just barrels along, fueled by the adrenaline and enthusiasm of its youthful narrator.'
'
Hick is extraordinary—not only because it gives voice to a 13-year-old with exactitude and complete believability, but also because it offers readers some important lessons in how to experience a novel. It makes us react—laugh, cry, get angry—and never breeds indifference.' (Peter Quinones )
