''Little Chicago'' is a 2002 novel by

Adam Rapp Adam Rapp (born June 15, 1968) is an American novelist, playwright, screenwriter, musician and film director. His play ''Red Light Winter'' was a Pulitzer Prize finalist in 2006. Early life Rapp was born in Chicago to Mary Lee (née Baird; died ...

. ''Little Chicago'' is a story told by eleven-year-old Gerald 'Blacky' Brown, a victim of sexual abuse and neglect living in

Little Chicago, Wisconsin Little Chicago is an unincorporated residential and agricultural community on Marathon County Highway A in located along the border of the towns of Hamburg, Marathon County, Wisconsin, Hamburg and Berlin, Marathon County, Wisconsin, Berlin, in ...

. Blacky is taken to hospital to be examined, tells a social worker about the molestation, and at school he tells his best (and only) friend, Eric Duggan. But he is let down by the other characters. Blacky's mother wants to keep seeing her boyfriend; his sister has a serious drug problem; Wendy Wolf, the woman from the Children's Service, does not follow up on the allegations; and Blacky suffers associated bullying at school. Blacky befriends Mary Jane Paddington, a lonely and very unpopular girl at school, and she encourages Blacky to resist the bullying, but she becomes the victim of a brutal prank. The girl’s friendship helped him, but he still suffers the cruelty at school and neglect at home. Eventually Blacky acquires a gun and two bullets and confronts two of the bullies. Rapp, through the observations of the young boy, shows the terror, bewilderment, and behaviour changes that can result from

child molestation Child sexual abuse (CSA), also called child molestation, is a form of child abuse in which an adult or older adolescent uses a child for sexual stimulation. Forms of child sexual abuse include engaging in sexual activities with a child (wheth ...

if adults ignore it.Mental Health Net review of ''Little Chicago'' by Su Terry on Dec 16th 2002
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Notes

{{Adam Rapp 2002 American novels Novels by Adam Rapp American young adult novels Novels about child abuse Novels about bullying Novels set in Wisconsin

See also

Notes