Shot-Blue
By Jesse Ruddock
Coach House Books, $19.95

Set against the backdrop of a remote lake, Jesse Ruddock’s debut novel Shot-Blue follows a boy who learns to survive in a land that was once his home, but is now changed by strangers.

Packed with characters who are at times intertwined and disconnected—as evidenced by the novel’s alternating points of view—Shot-Blue sheds light on the reality of love, loss, and loneliness.

While the book is difficult to follow at times, Ruddock exquisitely breathes life into feelings we all know too well. Feelings that are felt so powerfully, even when conveyed through very few words.