Mark Guerin is a playwright, copywriter and journalist who has an MFA from Brandeis University. A graduate of Grub Street’s Novel Incubator program in Boston, he is the winner of an Illinois Arts Council Grant, the Mimi Steinberg Award for Playwriting and Sigma Tau Delta’s Eleanor B. North Poetry Award. His debut novel “You Can See More From Up Here” is a coming-of-age story about the illusion of privilege and the power of the past to inform and heal the present. As of October 1, it is available everywhere books are sold.

“You Can See More From Up Here” begins with a memory that Walker Maguire would rather forget. He is in the medical exam room at American Motors with his father, the company’s doctor. The elder Maguire, an unhappily retired Air Force coronel, is making him take a summer job there and he needs a pre-employment physical. This memory takes place in the summer of 1974 but in the present, it is 2004 and a middle aged Walker is called to the deathbed of his estranged father in Bedford, Illinois. That summer, while working at the plant, he witnesses a bloody fight falsely blamed on Manny Camarasa, a Mexican immigrant but because he fears his white co-workers and his tyrannical father, he keeps quiet.

He thinks it is just a small lie, but it slowly leads to more lies, betrayals and the eventual disappearance of the Camarasa family and a lifelong rift between father and son. For years, Walker tries unsuccessfully to have an honest conversation with his father regarding the events of that summer but with him now in a coma, it seems that he will never get answers. It is up to him to find out what really happened and since too much time has passed, his memory is foggy so he starts a memoir. His father eventually passes so Walker never gets to hear his side of the story but some of his old demons are put to rest and he starts a new life in Bedford, after decades of running away from it.

In his debut novel, Mark Guerin paints a believable portrait of a Midwestern working class community and their everyday struggles. It contains the universal themes of family, first loves, racism and classism which are relevant at any time period. Growing up, Walker, whose father is a doctor, not only has to deal with family drama at home but also with resentments from those around him because of some imagined privilege that comes from being a doctor’s son. The author toggles back and forth between the past and the present without it becoming confusing. With easy to understand language and down to earth dialogue, the story flows easily from page to page, making it a natural page turner. The characters are well-developed and relatable but Piper, Walker’s little sister, remains a spoiled entitled brat in the past and the present. It is difficult to get through terms like “wetback” used to refer to the Mexican immigrants, but it brings the ugly truth of racism to light. “You Can See More From Up Here” is recommended for readers who appreciate a poignant coming of age novel that deals with racism, family drama, friendships, romance and the daily lives of the working class.

*The author received a copy of this book for an honest review. The views and opinions expressed here belong solely to her.