Whistle Punk Falls - by Shaun Anthony McMichael (Paperback)

About the Book

Racing against time, a pair of mothers and teenage sons repair broken bonds in the face of psychological and economic collapse in 2009 Aberdeen, Washington.

Book Synopsis

During the Spring of 2009 in the burnout timber town of Aberdeen, Washington, seventeen-year-old wallflower Jeremy Sweet, his friends, and their families discover that befriending someone with mental illness is a labyrinthine journey. That friend is Malachi "Loud" McCrowley. Native American, homeless, and haunted by the mysterious logging death of his white father, Loud claims he communicates with the ghosts of Kurt Cobain and other tragically misunderstood misfits of Aberdeen.

Jeremy was drawn to Loud because of their similar tastes in punk music and progressive ideas. But Loud's claims about the ghosts have Jeremy on edge; he also has his opinions on Loud's relationship with intrepid tomboy-turned-heartthrob, Aurora Lee Loftner, Jeremy's unrequited love interest.

Along their quixotic and hormone-fueled effort to intervene in Loud's dizzying decline, Jeremy and Aurora form unexpected alliances with their parents and Loud's estranged Native American mom and together, they reframe what it means to help someone.

Review Quotes

"McMichael delivers a haunting and fiercely empathetic debut about friendship, family, and the fragile ways we try to save each other."

Thomas Kohnstamm-Author of Supersonic

"The hot drama of the youth, Loud's disintegration, Jeremy's jealousy...Shaun paints the most perfect and awful of teenage situations and communicates them as somatic experiences. His lyricism and literary verve result in Margaret-Atwood-quality sentences that demand multiple readings out of pleasure and awe."

Eli Hastings-Psychotherapist, Author of Clearly Now the Rain

"Shaun Anthony McMichael is the patron saint of the alienated and disaffected youth in Washington's post-apunkalyptic grunge scene. His characters commune with Kurt Cobain's ghost while simultaneously embodying that same rebellious spirit. McMichael's prose is simultaneously lyrical and irreverent. Whistle Punk Falls resonates deeply--an unforgettable reading experience."

Daren Dean-Professor, Author of The Black Harvest

"Whistle Punk Falls spins a hard-luck tale and a reminder of a Northwest beyond the sights of Seattle's high-tech winners, returning us instead to the left behinds of this rain-drenched corner of the continent."

Doug Thorpe-Professor, Author of Rapture in the Deep.

"Brilliant, lyrical, brutally authentic. The prose achieves poetic heights of poignancy. A remarkable achievement."

Jim Thomsen-Editor, Book Reviewer

"A great time capsule of the last year of the tumultuous aughts, Whistle Punk Falls makes you want to relive your adolescence."

Dennis Staples-Author of This Town Sleeps.

"The resiliency of McMichaels' characters, the webs of friendship they weave, and the family bonds they struggle to rebuild provide the book's defiant promise of renewal."

Harry Kirchner-Editor at Counter Point Press

"A moving and beautiful story. A great achievement."

Gregory Wolfe-Publisher, Editor at SLANT