An Ocean in Iowa

A “funny and supremely moving” novel about a seven- year-old navigating a world of turmoil by the author of What’ s Eating Gilbert Grape (Harper’s Bazaar).

Seven-year-old Scotty Ocean decides that seven is going to be “his year.” But soon after his birthday, his artist-turned-alcoholic mother abandons the family—leaving Scotty and his two older sisters alone with their father.

As his perfect year falls apart, Scotty begins to act out during school and takes a series of increasingly wild actions to try to win his mother back—and, when that doesn’t work, to replace her.