Beck

This powerful historical fiction novel follows Beck, a boy born in Liverpool in 1907 to a prostitute and an African soldier, who is soon orphaned and sent to a Catholic institution in Canada. At fifteen, he escapes a harsh farm life and embarks on a westward journey across America and back, all against the backdrop of the Great Depression. The story explores his harrowing childhood, his quest for independence, and his eventual understanding that love is possible, making it a profound coming-of-age tale for young adults.

Born of a brief encounter between a Liverpool prostitute and an African soldier in 1907, Beck finds himself orphaned as a young boy and sent overseas to the Catholic Brothers in Canada. At age fifteen he is sent to work on a farm, from which he eventually escapes. Finally in charge of his own destiny, Beck starts westward, crossing the border into America and back, all while the Great Depression rages on. What will it take for Beck to understand the agonies of his childhood and realize that love is possible?