Summary

These linked stories takes place in an impoverished rural Pennsylvania town called The Bottom. They are narrated by a preteen named Butter, who plays in a band called the Five-Carat Soul Bottom Bone Band (FCSBBB).

In “Buck Boy,” Butter recounts the fatal shooting of a 17-year-old named Regis Robinson, nicknamed “Buck Boy” (55) by Mr. Woo, the Asian proprietor of the grocery store he was robbing. Buck Boy was a drug addict and criminal; no one is particularly surprised by the turn of events. However, as media outlets descend on the Bottom from the surrounding areas, local “'community leader'” (57) Rev. Jackson calls for an investigation into the shooting and launches a protest on Buck Boy's behalf (though he is clearly just trying to get attention for himself). Jackson's protest results in national news coverage and more protests. When Buck Boy's...