Junior

Junior Beauchamp has become accustomed to resorting to violence when defending himself or those closest to him. Junior and his brother JP live in a small town in Massachusetts with their substance-abusing mother, Amber Lee. Amber Lee is a hard-partying woman with a mean streak that ebbs and flows depending on her sobriety. By 1985, Junior has matured into a young man through aging and circumstance, as he is raising his brother JP and making extra cash to provide for his family.

When Junior accosted the pederast who assaulted a friend of his and JP’s, his reaction was swift and brutal and a man lay dead at his hands. Junior quickly hides the body and the brothers are determined to leave the unpleasantness in the past. Despite his occasional recklessness, Junior is a role model to JP and their bond is unbreakable.

Despite the clamor a murder would cause in their small town, there is a criminal empire being run out of a local pharmacy. Stanley Podrowski is a kingpin who has his hooks into the local residents either through supplying their addictions or exploiting their financial needs. The State Police are investigating the illegal pill trade of which Amber Lee is a frequent customer. Amber Lee is a schemer and conniver who often finds herself in a new predicament shortly after having been extricated from her previous one.

Junior’s future appears to be limited due to his home life and his flaws. However, he has been noted as a gifted artist and has been encouraged to use his talent to get a better education and liberate himself. Yet, Junior knows talent will not feed his family, and his duties as an older brother and oldest son may keep him stuck in neutral.

Junior is the fascinating story of a young man at war with his life’s status quo. Junior Beauchamp has resigned himself to being an afterthought as his mother’s addiction holds sway over her daily routine, yet he finds ways to rebel against his lousy lot. He will risk getting arrested by shoplifting in order to get candy for his brother, he will defile another man’s laundry to avenge an insult. His nomadic and dysfunctional youth has left him with mixed feelings about his destiny.

Whereas Junior feels obligated to his family, Amber Lee is always on the lookout for the next fix and/or drink. Amber Lee represents a life stolen by the search for the perpetual good time. Author Jon Boilard deftly captures the chaotic nature of a household riven by abandonment and addiction. The characters inhabiting this provincial drama are an assorted lot, yet all add value to a compelling narrative.