Tramps and Vagabonds

“We’re in this together, share and share alike, you said, and you got to let me share the bad too.” Bold, streetwise James has been riding the rails in the midst of the Great Depression ever since he ran away from his uncle’s house two years ago. When he pauses to catch his breath with a stint in the Civilian Conservation Corps, he meets Timothy, who has never spent a day on the road but sure would like to give it a try. James figures sweet angel-faced Timothy will last a few weeks at most. They’ll jump a train or two, see some of the country, maybe fool around a little: on the road no one minds much about two boys canoodling. Then Timothy will get tired of slumming it, and head on home. In the meantime, Timothy’s just as much fun as James hoped and then some, and tougher than he looks, too. Soon James and Timothy share everything, splitting whatever food and money and good times they can scrounge, and leaning on each other when they run into trouble. But summer fades into autumn, and James knows that Timothy ought to go home before the deadly winter arrives. James can’t stand to keep Timothy in danger, but can he bear to lose him? Content notes for days. Police brutality, general fisticuffs, rampant petty thievery, pervasive low-key peril, transactional sex, sexual menace, references to child abuse, references to sexual assault, period-typical attitudes in general but especially toward homosexuality (by which I mean not only homophobia but “Which parties in this sexual interaction are actually considered queer?”). One of my beta-readers said she read half the book peeking through her fingers because it was so emotionally intense. Make of that what you will.