Thanks to NetGalley and The Publisher for this eARC in exchange for an honest review.

This book has got me conflicted. I found it hard to get in to and the pacing a little difficult. I also found some of the language choices perplexing. A slow burner with far to much detail (in my opinion), however you really get an in depth almost voyeuristic view into the lives the characters are truly living. Then the ramp up towards the end is fantastic but almost too quick considering what has come before. However, seeing as we know the end from the beginning, that desire to find out the why was compelling enough to keep me hooked.

Brutal in its honesty, the effort required to get though this is rewarded.

Set in Portland, Oregon in the 1990s, The Residue Years is Jackson’s autobiographical novel of coming of age in a neglected neighbourhood.

We have two narrators (which you’ll know if you follow my reviews, that I love in a novel): Champ and his mother Grace. Grace has just completed a drug treatment program and is now trying to manage her addiction, find work and get custody of her children. Champ has dreams of purchasing his family’s old home and wants to do right by his Mum and brothers. In a world of few opportunities, selling drugs is the only way Champ feels he can achieve his dreams.

Both narrators are compelling in different ways. I found myself savouring Grace’s narrative and taking note of every detail in her story. She was the most compelling character to me, which may be because of my previous work with women with drug addictions. Champ was the kind of character I felt like I only "figured out" in the last 20% of the book. He's a man driven by his need to provide the best for those he loves, something which many men learn is a duty they hold as they grow from boys into men. With limited options, he feels his only hope of surviving and achieving his lofty goals is to adapt and build a business out of selling drugs. He's also a man who strikes me as somebody who many would describe as a "lone wolf" and I was struck by his fear of getting close to others, through fear of getting hurt.

The book speaks to America’s ‘War on Drugs’, gentrification, familial bonds and the fight to survive. Those with an interest in criminal justice would enjoy this book, as would those interested in the adaptability of human beings and how, for many, a life connected to drugs (either through addiction or engaging with the drug trade) feels like the only way to survive in a capitalist system.

The prose is so rich and almost lyrical that you immediately know this is not a book to be rushed or consumed mindlessly, rather The Residue Years demands that its reader really sits with the story and fights to understand every layer of these character’s experiences.

I have seen other reviews from (mostly white) readers who say that the writing style in this book is "hard work" and "difficult to understand". If you're feeling this way, I would encourage you to stick with the book. It is an incredible story of resilience, exploitation and survival that I think many people would benefit from reading and learning from.

I feel this is a book that will occupy my thoughts for a while. I finished the book a couple of days ago and still feel the ending haunting me. If you've read it, you'll know what I mean by this.

CWs: domestic violence, child abuse, drugs, blood, weaponry, sexual exploitation.