The Lying Woods by Ashley Elston (review)

Owen has been living the high life thanks to his dad's successful fracking business, which supports most of the people in their small Louisiana town. When his father disappears and it's apparent that he has stolen millions of dollars from their friends and neighbors, Owen and his mother become pariahs; most everyone believes they knew all along what Owen's father was doing, and even if they didn't, Owen's peers have to take their anger over unpaid contracts, lost college funds, and bankruptcy out on someone. Trying to help his mother, Owen takes a job outside of town at a pecan orchard with a reclusive owner who seems to be the only one in town not affected by Owen's father's theft. Interspersed chapters reveal the story of how Owen's parents met when his father worked at that same orchard, and eventually, the past and present come together in a twist that effectively sorts out the good guys from the bad guys. While the effects of a parent's white-collar crime have been explored before (see, for instance, Simmons' Pool Boy, BCCB 6/03), this tale offers a qualified redemption story by focusing on the parents as well as a teen determined to get to the truth and protect his mother from any fallout. Owen's no saint, but he's no villain either, and his guilt over living well off of other people's money is evident if credibly restrained. The intergenerational plot complicates the adults in the story, resisting typical YA stereotypes and giving Owen some adults worthy of the trust and affection he invests in them. Readers who enjoy a realistic mystery based on contemporary family dynamics and small-town class conflicts are the audience for this. KC