Back Roads

Back Roads (1999) is a contemporary thriller by Tawni O’Dell. Now a major motion picture, Back Roads follows a stifled and frustrated adolescent left to look after his younger siblings when his mother is sent to prison for killing his father. The book received widespread critical acclaim for its honest portrayal of survival, family dynamics, and adolescence. O’Dell is a New York Times bestselling author who grew up in western Pennsylvania. She has a degree in journalism from Northwestern University. She typically writes books set in Pennsylvanian mining communities. Her works are available in more than fifteen languages.

The protagonist, Harley Altmyer, is a nineteen-year-old orphan living in a quiet coal mining town. He has never had a proper girlfriend, and girls are all he can think about. Most of all, Harley wants is to be a normal teenager. He wants to date, drink, and go to college. Instead, he is stuck at home, looking after his three young sisters with no help from anyone.

Harley’s mother killed his violent and abusive father. Although his mother is still alive, Harley feels like an orphan because she doesn’t want to see him. She disowned her four children when the judge sentenced her to jail. Now, he works two jobs in the service industry to support everyone. These jobs are going nowhere and he has no long-term employment prospects.



His three young sisters, Amber, Misty, and Jody are sixteen, twelve, and six respectively. The youngest sibling, Jody is charming and sweet. She doesn’t remember her father and she doesn’t know what hardship is yet. For Harley, she represents hope, but he also resents her because she has so much life ahead of her.

Harley doesn’t see eye-to-eye with Misty. He suspects that their father abused Misty, but she won’t talk about it. She is emotionally distant, and Harley doesn’t know how to get through to her. Amber is worse. She deliberately makes Harley’s life difficult. She drinks and sleeps with boys, and Harley doesn’t know how to control her.

Everything gets worse for Harley when a woman visits him on shift one night. Callie Mercer is a lonely married woman with children. She knows Harley because her kids are friends with his sisters. She feels bad for Harley and his siblings because it cannot be easy growing up without a mother. Harley is aware of how pretty she is.



Callie fusses over Harley. She wants to cook for him, and she makes him feel special. Harley, assuming she fancies him, is thrilled by the idea of sleeping with her. Callie is open to Harley’s advances because Mr. Mercer is never home. He barely sleeps with her anymore and she feels neglected.

Meanwhile, Amber’s promiscuous behavior reaches new depths. She has sex with random strangers on the couch while her other sisters are home. Not knowing what to do, Harley feels like he is losing his mind. All the while, Callie makes him feel safe, desired, and loved. When Harley sleeps with Callie, he feels happier than he ever imagined.

Amber acts strangely when she finds out about Callie and Harley. She lashes out at Harley and cries constantly. Harley reveals the reason behind Amber’s outbursts. She and Harley once had an incestuous relationship. They never talk about it because it embarrasses them. Amber is jealous of someone else sleeping with Harley.



In the meantime, Misty steps up and takes more responsibility at home. She shocks Harley with her stoicism. Harley doesn’t realize that she is doing this because he isn’t around so much anymore. When Jody starts moping around and writing violent stories, Harley sees that he is spending too much time with Callie and it is damaging his relationship with his sisters. He tries to make Misty feel better, but she keeps pulling away from him.

Harley decides there is only one thing left to do if he wants to save his family. He visits his mother in jail. He wants to know more about what happened with his father, and why she doesn’t keep in touch with her own children anymore. To Harley’s surprise, she agrees to see him. What he discovers shocks him.

Harley’s mother did not kill his father. Misty shot him. Their mother took the blame so that no one would know the truth. Harley can’t understand why Misty would do this; his mother explains that his father abused Misty. Misty fell in love with her father and saw her mother as a threat to her future happiness. She planned to shoot Harley’s mother, but his father took the bullet. Now that there are no more secrets, there is hope for Harley’s relationship with his mother.



Harley’s relationship with Callie deteriorates. He shows up at her house whenever he feels like it, and her husband finds this weird. He soon puts a stop to Harley’s visits. Harley decides that if he can’t have Callie, no one can, and he shoots her. In the end, Harley is institutionalized.