I loved Wilson's Nothing to See Here, so I was excited to check out his latest. It affected me more than I thought it would. But that's what he's so good at--taking the weird and wacky and turning it into something wonderful.

That's also the theme of this book--creating art, making something you think is beautiful, and seeing how your creation reverberates through the lives of others, for good or bad. Zeke and Frankie are 16-year-olds living in rural TN in the 1990s. One summer they meet and begin creating art, while their parents and siblings live their own dramas and lives. In the garage of Frankie's home, they cook up an "art project." They make a poster: Zeke draws the art; Frankie writes the intoxicating phrase, "The edge is a shantytown filled with gold seekers. We are fugitives, and the law is skinny with hunger for us;" and both splatter it with their blood. The two then spend the summer, making copies and posting them around town and everywhere else they go.

This act snowballs into part of the pop-culture zeitgeist, as people become enamored of the phrase and the mystery (thanks "no-security-camera-1990s!). Frankie and Zeke feel the weight of their work, their art, and surprising things happen. And when a New Yorker writer contacts Frankie years later, we get her perspective as an older woman, with a husband and family.

I was so immersed in this odd yet charming story. The nature of art and its effect on people is such a wonderful topic, and Wilson presents it beautifully. It's even more meaningful when you read (or, in my case, listen to) his note at the end where he shares how he was inspired to write this book. I also really loved the nostalgia it brought up about the 1990s. This is a sweet love letter to art and its power--definitely recommend!

And, if you're into audio, Judy Hopps of Zootopia fame Ginnfer Goodwin does a wonderful job narrating Frankie. It's a fast-paced, fun listen.