Luckless Boady Sanden hates his hometown of Jessup, Mo. To him, there's nothing more dangerous than being a freshman at a school full of kids who are popular and rich. He's neither, which makes him a loner. The only students who don't ignore him either beat him up or try to enlist him in a secret society of white supremacists. Boady just wants to keep his head down, work hard at Ryke--the plastics factory and the town's biggest employer--and save enough money to escape the backward-thinking community.
When a black woman goes missing, her disappearance is connected to the manager at Ryke, who is fired. The Elgins, a black family, move into the house across the street from Boady. The father, Charles, is the factory's new manager, and his wife, Jenna, befriends Boady's mom, Emma. The son, Thomas, becomes the first friend Boady has had since grade school.
But the friendship between the black family and the white one creates chaos in the neighborhood. A cross is burned on the Elgins' lawn, a house is set on fire and Boady's mom is attacked. He must decide between staying and fighting for what's right or running from his troubles.
Allen Eskens (The Heavens May Fall) doesn't just tap into the experience of growing up in a rural Southern town; Nothing More Dangerous dissects the inner life of a teen forced to confront prejudice and persecution. Boady knows racism is wrong, but feels powerless to stop it. Eskens has the skill to make readers cry during Boady's turmoil, and then cheer as the hapless boy becomes a hopeful adult. --Paul Dinh-McCrillis, freelance reviewer