THE TAOS NEWS
Earnest coming-of-age tale of an adopted boy in LA.
And a lyrical meditation on the sacred in the self
LOST AND FOUND PAGES
A Novel by Ron Ramsay Hagg By Amy Boaz
It is the near future, and Ray Johnson is 15 years old, an only child living with his parents in the Los Angeles suburbs, when he begins to have troubling mother-son separation dreams.
Ray is adopted, and very aware that he looks completely different than his Anglo parents – he is dark-skinned, and even fends off a bully who calls him racial slurs.
Set in 2033, it is 15 and more years since the searing memory of the Trump administration, and author Hagg’s latest novel (after In Too Deep) explores the human consequences of its excoriated policy of separating children from their refugee mothers at the border.
At this same time, Ray’s father suddenly, inexplicable, deserts the family for another woman, leaving both his mother, Molly, and Ray, a baseball star at his high school – but a dismal student – distraught, yet determined to support each other.
Hagg’s style is incrementally descriptive, and daily Ray struggles to keep attentive in school and at baseball practice and games. He demonstrates that he is remarkably mature, in terms of sympathizing with his mother, who is a secret playwright who never fulfilled her own dreams.
And there is Ray’s growing intimacy with a kind girl from school, Nancy.
Ultimately, the conflict in the novel becomes the reconciliation of Ray’s dreams with his need to find out the truth about his adoption – aided by his super enlightened mom, who becomes his advocate. And girlfriend, Nancy, despite her own travails with her recently widowed father who is in bad shape, lends her good work ethic and helps turn Ray around in school.
It’s a sweet, earnest coming-of-age tale from Hagg, an Arroyo Hondo resident, and almost too good to be true – except for the vicious Trump era blip of 15 years before, which happens to be our own era.
For sale on amazon.com or from me directly at ronhagg@hotmail.com