The story takes place in the late 1960's, with Hedges doing an excellent job of filling in the details of life in that politically and socially charged atmosphere. Readers who grew up during those days will enjoy the references to such icons as My Three Sons, The Courtship of Eddie's Father, and Family Affair.
For Scotty, however, life in his home bears little resemblance to that enjoyed by the characters on those sitcoms, in which all problems are solved within the 22-minute span of an episode.
Scott's two older sisters provide both joy and displeasure, with the latter predominating. His father is a judge, an earnest but somewhat bumbling head of the household, who does his best to guide his brood when an unexpected occurrence throws the family into turmoil.
Shortly after Scotty marks his seventh birthday, his mother Pam abandons the family. She has been unhappy in her marriage, besieged by the alcohol she uses as a defense against her sadness, and perhaps suffers from psychological problems.
The loss of his mother stuns Scotty, who believes it's his fault. He does all he can to persuade her to return. His efforts, as would be expected, misfire. An attempt to replace his absent parent with a neighborhood mom fails miserably. Somehow, Scotty decides, he will stay seven forever. In his thinking, that's the only way to reassemble his family.
Author Hedges, who has written a number of plays, admits that the novel contains elements of his own life. Hedges says he was seven in 1969 and there are "three or four autobiographical moments in the story." But it's not a memoir, he asserts.
"Seven was my favorite number," Hedges says. "I had wanted to be seven forever." The novel takes place in Iowa, where Hedges grew up in West Des Moines. Denying he is Scotty, Hedges says, "I was born on July 6, 1962. He was born on July 12th. I did not know him growing up, but I'd like to think that if I had, we'd have been best friends.
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