A neglected 12-year-old boy does nothing to report the death of his mother in order to compete in a spelling bee. A tragic coming-of-age tale of horror and drama in the setting of a hot New Orleans summer.“Original, touching coming of age.” ~Jack Ketchum, author of The Girl Next Door“With “Of Foster Homes and Flies” Lutzke is firing on all cylinders. It’s a lean mean emotional machine. … emotional machine. Coming-of-age presented in a fresh direction. Bearing tremendous emotional weight and heart. It made me cry. ”
-John Boden, author of JEDI SUMMER and DOMINOES
“Disturbing, often gruesome, yet poignant at the same time, Chad Lutzke’s OF FOSTER HOMES AND FLIES is one of the best dark coming-of-age tales I’ve read in years. You’ll laugh (sometimes when you know you shouldn’t), you’ll cry, you’ll find yourself wondering how soon you can read more of this guy’s work. Highly recommended!”
– James Newman, author of MIDNIGHT RAIN, UGLY AS SIN, and ODD MAN OUT
“OF FOSTER HOMES AND FLIES by Chad Lutzke is a lovely addition to the coming of age subgenre. He creates in the character of Denny an authentic young man with passions and foibles, someone easy to relate to and root for. The novella hits all the right notes you expect out of a coming of age tale, while also providing a plot that has originality and surprises.”
~Mark Allan Gunnells, author of FLOWERS IN A DUMPSTER and THE SUMMER OF WINTERS
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Of Foster Homes and Flies has been on my reading docket for over 6 months now. I wish I hadn’t waited so long. This is a heartbreaking tale about young Denny and the loss of his parents. But it’s about so much more than that, really.
When a 12 year old boy has lost his father, and then loses his mother shortly thereafter, (to a constant state of drunkenness), there isn’t much to look forward to in his young life. His family is poor, he hasn’t even ridden in a car in over a year, (never mind his family owning one), and Ingrid, the family dog, has been exposed to so much cigarette smoke she’s no longer white.
Over the past year, Denny has been regretting having not entered his school’s spelling bee last year. This time around, Denny is going to enter that spelling bee-and come hell or high water, he’s going to win it. Will he really win? You’ll have to read this novella to find out!
I’m not sure why I identified so much with this kid, but I did. Everything about him and his poor family rang true to me. I loved the depictions of his few friends and neighbors-which only goes to show you that in the end, in spite of being surrounded by people, you can still be alone. I just wanted to reach out and hug Denny. I wish he were right now so I could.
I’ve read one of Chad Lutzke’s stories before in the anthology Bumps in the Road, which he edited. I loved that story too, but not quite as much as this one.
Highly recommended for fans of coming-of-age tales like Robert McCammon’s Boy’s Life, James Newman’s Midnight Rain, or John Boden’s Jedi Summer: with The Magnetic Kid.
You should grab a copy and you can right here: Of Foster Homes and Flies
*I received a complimentary copy of this novella in exchange for my honest feedback. This is it.*
This finally arrived at the top of my TBR pile and I now understand what all you folks have been talking about! I’m alittle late and anything I would write about this one has probably already been put to the page! I agree with all the 5 reviews! This is a touching, horrific, gives you the feelings kind of book and I recommend that if you call yourself a reader then you need to read this!
Denny is a 12 year old child of a severely damaged and broken home. After the passing of his father, Denny began preparing for an annual spelling bee. It’s something he desperately wants to do because he knows his father would have been proud of him, maybe his mother too. His father’s death changed his mother. She began drinking and neglecting her son. Now, Denny finally survived his mother’s abuse when he finds her still and unmoving body after a night of heavy drinking. Instead of calling the police, Denny does everything he can to endure the rotting corpse in the coming days. It is only five days until the spelling bee after all. He’s determined to make his parents proud.
Of Foster Homes and Flies by Chad Lutzke is a devastating and deeply disturbing coming-of-age tale that left me emotionally gutted. Lutzke penned a compelling story with a protagonist who’s desperation and longing to compete in an annual spelling bee will ravage reader’s attention. Empathy, sadness, despair and utter perturbation are firmly rooted in the narrative making the story hopelessly addictive. This is definitely one of those books that will turn cautious readers into dearly devoted fans of Lutzke.
Of Foster Homes and Flies by Chad Lutzke
A hauntingly, beautifully written tragic story. This story haunted me long after I finished it. Chad’s writing has a way to make you feel all the emotions. I absolutely loved this story!
Poetically beautiful and sweetly morbid as always.