Books like Rule of the Bone by Russell Banks
Rule of the Bone follows the life of Chappie, a street-smart teenager upbringing in a trailer park in upstate New York with his mother and abusive stepfather. Rejected by his family and out of school, Chappie gradually turns to drugs and petty crime while drifting from one crash‑pad to another. Joined by his best friend Russ, he discovers an alternative sense of belonging through a crossed‑bone tattoo, and in the process adopts the name "Bone"—a deliberate, rebellious claim to an identity that places him permanently on the outside.
The novel paints a stark portrait of teenage hardship and the desperate ways some seek escape, while also highlighting the fierce bonds that form among those left on society's fringes.
First publish date: June 26, 1995
Genre: General Fiction/General Fiction
Authors: Russell Banks
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