The Outcast

KIRKUS BOOK REVIEW
In this novel, a teenage boy fails to stop a rape committed by a high school football star and becomes locked within the legal and moral drama that ensues. In 1963, Danny Prescott is an ordinary 16-year-old boy in Banning, Iowa, who is unaccustomed to being noticed by the likes of Brent Arrington, a star high school football player and the “closest thing Banning had to a celebrity.” So Danny, who is also on the football team, is surprised when Brent asks him for a ride to the home of Loretta Tinsley, a 13-year-old girl in junior high. While there, Brent and Loretta disappear into a hay loft, where Brent rapes her and casually emerges unperturbed by her anguished cries, grotesquely satisfied by his conquest. Danny does nothing to help her and even gives Brent a ride back to town. Danny quickly becomes emotionally overwhelmed by his cowardly inaction, which finally leaves him “shimmering with shame and humiliation,” an ignominy sensitively depicted by Whipple. Loretta presses charges, and Brent is arrested for rape while Danny is considered an accessory to the assault. Danny desperately wants to atone for his part in Loretta’s agony, especially after she attempts suicide, and tells the truth about what he saw. He even pines to testify against Brent. But Danny becomes the town pariah—some hate him because he won’t defend Brent, who makes a state football championship possible, and others because they see him as the star athlete’s accomplice. The school’s principal, Mr. Larson, tries to expel Danny, and local mothers take up a petition to remove him from school. Coach Esker discourages Danny from continuing to play football, and many of his teammates, Brent’s “loyalists,” shun him. Even worse, Brent assaults him brutally and threatens to kill him if he doesn’t keep his mouth shut.
Whipple’s moral drama is layered with complexity—the Prescotts have a long and fraught relationship with the Arringtons. This is especially impressive given the ordinariness of this town—Danny calls it a “grease spot on an Iowa map”—which serves as a perfect stage for the story, a small place that gives birth to big sins. At the heart of the novel is a delicately portrayed maturation of Danny—this unassuming virgin who longs to escape the aching provinciality of his life is compelled to grow up fast and ask himself hard questions about what it means to be a man. Whipple’s writing is generally poetically unembellished, but its plainness is the source of its gathering power, and it brings into sharp relief the averageness of those who participate in this moral contest. Here, Loretta’s father, Evert, confronts Danny regarding his responsibility for her rape: “Why didn’t you help my little girl? They say you’re a good kid. Why didn’t you help her when she cried out?…Why would someone she considered a friend…bring a monster to our farm?”
This is an absorbing look into the ways even the most ordinary human beings can suddenly become key players in a terrible drama.
A moving exploration of the profound costs of trying to be a good person
Our Verdict: “GET IT” Recommended.

Editorial Review: "The Outcast"
Author: DL Whipple
Trigger Warnings: Underage rape, suicide, and animal death
"Jim and I watched the rain coming down in torrents from inside the grain shed that connected the silo to the barn. It was supposed to be cloudy with a chance of rain. We should have finished feeding the cattle a half hour ago, but the rain had been relentless all morning, and neither of us wanted to get soaked. We were in rain gear, though it gave us little protection from the howling wind that whipped the rain into our faces like birdshot from a twelve-gauge. My brother was twenty-two, six years older than me, and I thought he knew everything. Still, he rarely said anything of value or gave me helpful advice. The last thing I expected from Jim that morning was concern for my well-being. "You're not screwing anybody, are you, chump?" he asked. "If you are, you better use a rubber, because any girl that would screw you is probably too dumb to know what makes babies.""
Sixteen year old Danny Prescott is growing up on a cattle farm in Banning, Iowa, in 1963, surrounded by his family, his friends, and his dog Ranger. But rural small town animosities and feuds overshadow his life and influence his decision-making, leading to a confluence of events that form the plot of "The Outcast" by DL Whipple. The narrative is best described as a "slice-of-life", told in the first person by Danny, who, like many 16 year olds, is developing independence, wondering about the future, oh, and thinking about girls. Readers may blush at the frankness of the dialogue and language in the book and the thoughts that go through Danny's mind, but others may recognize the realism inherent in Danny's character as he starts to think about making his way in the world, aided by well-meaning advice from his older brother.
Danny has already decided he could not be a farmer, and Whipple skilfully illustrates the detail of Danny's personality through letting the reader see his love of animals, and his relationship with Ranger. Danny's uneasy discussions with his father and his brother are masterpieces of male bonding, where family members love each other but are hesitant about showing their emotions. The characterizations within "The Outcast" are a highlight, particularly in Whipple's depictions of Danny's relationship with his siblings.
Brent Arrington, a football star, and deemed a "cool kid" is slightly older than Danny, and their acquaintance leads to Danny being caught up in a sequence of circumstances that cast a long shadow for all involved. The harsh side of life is apparent throughout "The Outcast", and readers should also be aware that the story contains references and scenes depicting sexual assault, as well as references to traumatic death.
There are several twists and turns in the plot of the novel which this reviewer will omit from the review, but suffice to say the storyline is gritty and authentic, with sunshine and rainbows in short supply. The story will appeal to all those who appreciate realism and who understand that being a teenager, even with loving parents and siblings, is never straightforward. Whipple has written a book with a resounding sense of place — creating a vivid image for the reader of the cattle, the barn, the corn, the weather, and other mainstays of rural life.
"As my father and I walked to the house, Ranger was at my heels, snuggling his nose into my hand. He made me feel guilty for not giving him any attention. I told my dad I was going to play with Ranger for a minute. Ranger's eyes told me I'd spent more time with the chickens than with

What can I say other than this is a must-read tale of a teenage farm boy in Iowa during the 1960s, when life in rural America was different than many lives today. The story is excellent - hard to read at times - filled with the consequences of one teenage decision that has some truly awful life-altering events for most of the characters. It is a tale as old as time - the desire for a young boy or girl to simply fit in, succumbing to peer pressure, and doing things for all the wrong reasons, then trying to correct those errors with the small-town lifestyle stacked against him.

At times I laughed. At times I cried. At times reading the book was heart-wrenching. Other times, I put the book down, as I felt some of the farm life details got in the way of the story. But the more I read and deeper inside the Preston family I dove, the more realistic these details were, the more developed the setting, which became a character in itself.

Be prepared. The book is filled with violence, which is well-written but often hard to handle. But the writer did an amazing job of offsetting the horrors with humor. The book contains abuse, rape, self-harm and bullying, which the author portrayed in a way that made the story real - one that truly described how women handled such matters in a time where men felt as if they could do whatever they pleased without any consequences.

I highly recommend this story. But be prepared for some moments when you just want to reach inside this tale and give a few characters a piece of your mind. This is what makes this book an excellent read. It is not for the faint of heart or for young audiences, despite the hilarity of the father and the two boys on the farm. But it is a tale of a young boy who made one bad decision and works throughout the book to correct it.

“The Outcast” by D.L. Whipple

Iowa in 1963 is the setting for this compelling story about a farm boy who finds himself in trouble with the law and his whole community when he foolishly thinks giving a ride to the high school football hero will make him one of the cool guys. The life-changing consequences of that decision reverberate through the small community and dredge up painful history.

It’s a page-turner, as rumors swirl about the protagonist Danny and his family, and the community takes sides. I grew impatient with Danny, whose temper, self-pity and immaturity led him to make one bad decision after another. It seemed that he was incapable of learning from his mistakes or listening to good advice. Perhaps that’s what it’s like to be a teenage boy, but it began to frustrate me that he was so impulsive and compounded his trouble.

What sparkles is the character of Weird Wendy, a social outcast and classmate who befriends Danny, when he is being shunned. All in all, “The Outcast” is worth a read to go back to the norms, social stigma and the high cost of being cool in a small town in the 1960s. (Note: Story has themes of sexual assault and violence.)