East Bay Grease (Picador USA ed.)

In Eric Miles Williamson's Debut Novel, young TBird Murphy seeks to gain a foothold in the turbulent and menacing world of 60's and 70's Oakland. While his mother runs with Hell's Angels bikers, T-Bird falls beneath the men's fists and favors, finds solace and hope in the slightest of rewards, and seeks to survive. Soon, his ex-con father returns to town, and T-Bird moves in to live at the Mohawk gas station and the trailer behind it. There he finds challenges of a different form: schools overrun by gangs, a father who is one blink away from madness, and a trumpet that might offer escape.

Williamson directs an unflinching and surprisingly sympathetic eye into the heart of a young man finding his way.