THE GOD OF WAR by Marisa Silver

Ares (meaning god of war) Ramirez is the 12-year-old narrator of this novel, set in the 1970s.  He lives with his mother Laurel and half-brother Malcolm in a trailer in the southern California desert.  When Malcolm was a baby, Ares accidentally dropped him, and now Malcolm is intellectually challenged and unable to talk.  Ares and his mother never discuss this event, but Ares bears unspeakable guilt and feels that Malcolm’s well-being is his responsibility.  When Ares meets a teenager with bigger problems than his, he realizes that he does not have to be the perfectly obedient son that he has always been.  Laurel is somewhat of a free spirit who loves both her sons but isn’t the most responsible mother.  Some big stuff happens near the end of this novel, including a major revelation and a violent encounter.  One of the most intriguing characters is Mrs. Poole, the school librarian who has some success in improving Malcolm’s behavior, with no cooperation from Laurel, but who cannot manage the behavior of her own foster son.  Laurel’s on-again, off-again boyfriend Richard also has some good character traits and serves as an occasional father figure to Malcolm and Ares, but he manages to show bad judgment in the area of supervision, just as Laurel does.  Laurel and Richard both mean well, but they expect too much from Ares, and eventually that burden becomes too great a load for him to bear.  Worst of all, the lack of communication between Laurel and Ares leads to a weighty misconception that could have been easily avoided.  The characters are mostly likable, if you can get past their obvious idiosyncrasies, but are not necessarily admirable.