His abusive father makes life miserable for his family, and as the youngest of three sons, Doug frequently takes the brunt of his rage. The older Swieteck boys seem to be following in their father’s footsteps; his brother Lucas only stopped beating up Doug when he got drafted and sent to Vietnam. Doug’s sole ally in the family is his mother, a gentle woman with a beautiful smile who struggles constantly to placate her husband but retains an amazing capacity to nurture and love.
When Doug’s father is fired from his job, the family moves upstate from Long Island to the small town of Marysville. Before they leave, Holling Hoodhood, one of Doug’s friends from Camillo Junior High, brings him a parting gift: a New York Yankees jacket that had been given to him by Joe Pepitone. Doug’s father’s shady friend Ernie Eco secured a new home for the Swietecks. It is squalid, and Doug christens it “The Dump.” He is pleased that the place at least has a basement where he can hide his jacket from the vindictive grasp of his middle brother.
Doug is befriended by Lil Spicer, a smart, feisty girl whose father owns Spicer’s Deli. Lil’s father gives Doug a job delivering groceries on …show more content…
Lil introduces Doug to the local library, where he is drawn to a folio by John James Audubon, which is displayed in a glass case and opened to a plate of the Arctic Tern, a falling bird with a “terrified eye.” When Doug returns to the library to see the masterpiece again, Mr. Powell, an artistic employee, recognizes his interest and teaches him how to draw the bird. Doug has talent, and for the first time in his life, he experiences pride in his work. But one Saturday, the plate of the Arctic Tern is gone, replaced by another, the Large-Billed Puffins. The city is mutilating the Audubon folio and selling the valuable plates one by one to pay its