Review
Thomas Cullen delivers a powerful debut with Charlie-Man. I wasn’t sure what to expect. But the book packs quite the emotional punch in barely 200 pages. How much hardship could one high school senior in 1990s Virginia face? Quite a bit, apparently.
When readers meet Charlie, he’s already gone through a major life event – the loss of his father. His mother self medicates and hasn’t been the same since the loss. His sister is away at medical school. But at least he has his best friend Beau, who attends the same prestigious all-boys school. And while Charlie is described as an “undistinguished” student with a lanky build, his best friend excels academically, socially, and physically. Yet Charlie remains loyal and continues to look out for Beau – even when he displays problematic behavior.
Charlie is also rekindling his relationship with Katy, a star athlete and student at the all-girls sister campus. He’s also pulling his own on the football team and rising in the ranks in track. Yet soon enough, Charlie and readers alike will have no idea what the author has in store for him.
I didn’t expect Charlie-Man to trigger me the way that it did. I related to Charlie is multiple ways, through his academic ambitions, social circles, and home life. The author weaves in mental health representation beautifully in his descriptions of past and present experiences. Charlie, understandably, experienced anxiety and depression after his father passed. While he was able to pull himself out of it, his resilience is challenged again and again. Without entering spoiler territory, I’ll just say that Charlie is a better person than I am in the way that he handles these events.
Thomas Cullen joins the Cantina Book Club Podcast to discuss his career as a federal judge and his experiences as a debut author. Keep an ear out for the episode and pick up a copy of Charlie-Man, available now.
Book
It’s August 1994, and Charlie Stewart begins his final year at St. Mark’s Episcopal School, a prestigious all-boys school in Richmond, Virginia. Charlie, an undistinguished student by St. Mark’s standards, faces tough odds as he seeks to rekindle his relationship with Katy Hendricks, a beautiful tennis star, and gain admission to a highly selective state university.
Through it all, Charlie relies on Beau Miller, his best friend and the top student athlete in their class. Despite Beau’s movie-star looks and infectious charm, he has a darker side, which becomes more apparent as the year progresses.
Charlie endures his trials with wry determination and ultimately emerges with a renewed sense of purpose. This is a heartrending but hopeful story of one boy’s journey toward manhood in the American South.
