Matthew McGevna’s “Little Beasts” debuts from Kaylie Jones Books

July 10, 2015

We are very proud to announce the release of Matthew McGevna’s debut novel Little Beasts, which Kirkus Reviews said “captures the familiar rhythms of summertime, following young people on the edge of violence.”

Here’s what others had to say about the novel:

“Here is Matthew McGevna’s Little Beasts, a story about growing up in the 1980s and making one’s way into the world. It’s all here: discovered ambition; poignant exasperation; abundant mistakes and triumphs and regrets. And what turns out to be the bitter downward path to wisdom. Matthew McGevna has given us a great gift. Superb.”
—Larry Heinemann, author of Paco’s Story

“Mathew McGevna’s Little Beasts gives us the people of Turnbull, New York, as their own tragedy begins to envelop them. And in the sure hands of this gifted young novelist, we know them well enough to feel the history in our nerve-endings–we live it. This is a brave, beautiful book.”
—Richard Bausch, author of Before, During, After

Premise:

Turnbull is a working-class town full of weary people who struggle to make ends meet. Evictions, alcoholism, and random violence are commonplace. In the heat of July 1983, when eight-year-olds James Illworth, Dallas Darwin, and Felix Cassidy leave their homes to play in the woods, they have to navigate between the potentially violent world of angry adults and even angrier teens. Little do they know that within a few short hours, one of them will lay dead, after a bit of playful bullying from older teens escalates to tragedy.

Loosely based on a real crime that took place on Long Island in 1979, Little Beasts is a panorama of a poor, mostly white neighborhood surrounded by the affluent communities of the East End. After the murder, the novel’s main characters must come to grips with the aftermath, face down the decisions they’ve made, and reestablish their faith in the possibility of a better world.

Hear Matthew talk about his new novel: