Ceejay McDermott lives in Knowles, IA and not much goes on in her small town. She idolizes her older brother Bobby because he is B-A-D-D, BADD (she never explains why there is an extra d), and so is she. She has always felt he was the only one in the family who understood her but he is not around right now. He had a wild streak that got him arrested for drugs and the plea deal included enlisting in the army. He was sent to Iraq and Ceejay discovers he came back earlier than he should have. She wonders why he is not coming to the house and seems to be avoiding her. As the story unfolds, it is clear that he suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder, but Ceejay seems to never have heard of it and is at a loss as to how to help. The requisite new, quirky boy in town, whom she and her friends refer to as Mr. White because he always wears white, suggests that maybe that is what is wrong with Bobby and their fledgling friendship hits a rocky patch. The author throws in a bunch of other contemporary problems including a grandmother with cancer, a potentially rocky marriage threatened by the town hussy, Captain Crazy, sibling issues, and a Vietnam vet who factors into the solution to Bobby’s problems. The character development is strong and the subplots add depth but the resolution is a bit too pat. ( )

Reviewed by Sally Kruger aka "Readingjunky" for TeensReadToo.com

Ceejay has always been close to her older brother. It's been them against the rest of the world, or at least the rest of their family. Unfortunately, when Bobby's mischievous ways lead to the point of a joyride in a stolen car, a choice must be made. Their parents chose the military over jail for their errant son.

With the exception of leave time, it's been years since Ceejay and Bobby have been together. He is expected home soon, and Ceejay can't wait to pick up where they left off. Surely after returning from Iraq, Bobby will be ready to party and enjoy his time with now sixteen-year-old Ceejay.

The summer starts with Ceejay's parents announcing that she will be working for her Uncle Jimmy. She'll be slapping paint on whatever project he assigns, but that's better than the job her little sister, Lacy, gets. Lacy will be living with their grandmother several hours away. She'll be taking care of the ungrateful woman while she undergoes chemotherapy. At least, while working for Uncle Jimmy, Ceejay will be at home and able to hang out with Bobby when he gets back.

Ceejay is shocked when she sees someone that looks like Bobby cruising by with an old flame. It takes some investigation, but she learns that he has returned from Iraq early but hasn't seen fit to show up and greet his family. When Ceejay discovers where he is staying, she confronts him and discovers that something about him has changed.

Bobby's first meeting with family is filled with tension, and a BBQ party planned in his honor turns to chaos when he announces that he was asked to leave the military and earned only a general discharge. Ceejay doesn't care about that. She is just frustrated that he is choosing to hang out and live with Captain Crazy, an old Vietnam protester who lives on a nearby, rundown farm. When a friend suggests that Bobby may suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), Ceejay is quick to defend her brother and deny the possibility, but as time passes, she realizes there might be some truth to the suggestion.

Tim Tharp, author of THE SPECTACULAR NOW, has used his unique talent to create a novel focused on a topic becoming increasingly more common as our soldiers return from war in the Middle East. Families like Ceejay's are facing the return of sons and daughters who aren't the sons and daughters they remember. By including the Vietnam issue, Tharp lets his young readers know this is not the first war to have a profound effect on soldiers and the families left behind. I appreciated the depth of character development and the depiction of the varied emotional impact caused by Bobby's return, as well as the other problems faced by this typical American family. ( )