The following version of this book was used to create the guide: Lish, Atticus. The War for Gloria. Vintage Books, a Division of Penguin Random House LLC, 2021. First Edition. Paperback.

The novel is narrated in the third person, past tense, and is set in Boston. It begins by depicting the life of Gloria Goltz once she gives birth to her son, Corey, her senior year of college in the 1990s. The beginning of the novel portrays a survey of Corey’s adolescence, wherein he and his mother live an itinerant lifestyle in the outskirt, working-class neighborhoods of Boston. Corey’s biological father, Leonard Agoglia, is briefly introduced; he is not a fatherlike presence in Corey’s life, but professes to be a genius in physics, working as a security guard at MIT. Corey is in awe of his father. In 2007, Gloria and Corey move to Quincy, where most of the novel develops.

The story resumes in 2010, when Corey is 15. Gloria is diagnosed with ALS. Corey begins to work odd jobs in construction to get money to assist Gloria. At this point, Tom Hibbard is introduced as an ancillary character. He is a working-class man in construction whom Corey idolizes. Gloria eventually tells Leonard about her diagnosis, and then the novel depicts Gloria’s memories of first meeting Leonard in 1993. Corey goes to MIT one day to talk with Leonard. Cory does not find him but instead finds a boy around his age, Adrian Reinhardt. Adrian is very intelligent and dedicated to fitness but is aloof and does not care for the company or opinion of most people. His mother has brain cancer. Adrian and Corey discuss their fathers; Adrian’s parents are divorced and his father lives in Ohio. One day, Corey invites Adrian to his house, and he meets Leonard; they make a good impression on each other and discuss physics. There are multiples scenes in which Leonard tells Corey he has much information and wisdom he could share if he were so inclined. Corey begins to be skeptical of his father’s wisdom.

Gloria’s condition worsens and she struggles to commute to work; simultaneously, Leonard takes her car and vanishes for a couple weeks. Corey confronts his father and suggests to Gloria that he is not necessary in their lives and is, in fact, a malignant presence. Corey also meets a man named Dave at a worksite, and they form a friendship. Dave takes Corey to a friend’s rundown apartment, where men drink and lift weights and otherwise idle the time. At Dave's Corey gets drunk for the first time. Corey begins to act antagonistically at school, looking for fights. The novel introduces Molly Hibbard: Tom’s daughter. She is a grade ahead of Corey and it is evident Corey likes her. Corey visits Adrian at his house and is no longer awed by his intelligence. He meets Adrian’s mother, who dotes upon her son, but Adrian is cold to his mother.

Corey soon gets fired from his construction job for lying on his timesheets when he hangs out with Dave. Corey meets with Dave’s friend, Anthony, to buy and sell drugs from him. However, Corey does not proceed to sell drugs, and ceases to be friends with Dave. Adrian visits MIT with his mother and he finds Leonard there. They converse and both discuss their common animosity towards women. One day, Tom gives Corey a ride home and discusses his recent behavior as a hoodlum. Corey is remorseful and resolves to change his behavior. Corey begins to go to a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu gym, Best Way. The school year ends, and Gloria’s condition worsens. Corey gets a job working for a freelance landscaping outfit. Tension percolates over the summer between Corey and Leonard, and there are multiple instances of them arguing in the house. Corey’s senior year begins, and Leonard starts to only come to the house sporadically. Simultaneously, Adrian begins his freshman year at MIT; he does not attempt to make friends and is confronted about hygiene and other discomforting behavior.

Corey continues to devote energy to Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and there is a tournament in New Hampshire. He loses his fight quickly, and rushes back home quickly to tend to his mother. Months go by, and at the clinic, Gloria is told she needs a wheelchair. Molly visits for a weekend from UMass; she and Corey hang out. Meanwhile, Adrian has a habit of going to an MIT campus building and watching pornography with Leonard in a seemingly objective manner. He tells Leonard he has a memory of his mother threatening to castrate him shortly after her divorce proceedings began. Months later, Corey has another fight in Springfield. He wins this fight, and a promoter tells him he has a future in professional fighting. Corey gets a voicemail from his mother, though, and rushes back home to help her. Gloria and Leonard are fighting when Corey arrives. Corey threatens Leonard, and he proceeds to throw Leonard’s belongings in a marsh behind the house. Later that night, state troopers arrive and arrest Corey, though he is not held overnight.

Corey drops out of high school and resolves to work full-time. He gets a job with a group of for-hire laborers, Labor Ready. By now, Corey must assist Gloria with all her daily routines, including hygiene and eating. A woman named Joan, with whom Corey and his mother lived briefly in the 1990s, arrives and moves in to help Gloria. Corey has his court date and meets his attorney, Shay, whom he admires. Cory is told the case will likely vanish if he stays out of trouble through the summer. Corey visits Adrian one day. Adrian tells Corey he has a new friend who takes him to strip clubs. Corey suspects Adrian and his father are friends.

In the summer, Corey visits Molly at her house one day. Corey gets close to her and is about to kiss her when she tells him if they have sex, then they cannot be friends anymore. He decides not to, and leaves. Corey continues to work at long-term construction site and Gloria’s condition worsens. He must quit the jobsite to tend to his mother. Corey’s court case eventually settles with little consequence. The novel depicts a memory Joan has: one night, when Corey was very little, Leonard took him and Gloria camping in Ayer; Gloria called Joan to pick them up and when she got there, she suspected something nefarious had happened, but she does not know, and Gloria does not ever discuss it.

Adrian’s sophomore year begins, and his attitude has changed; he is cleaner and slightly more sociable. Over winter break, though, Adrian visits his father in Ohio. It is not a good visit and when Adrian returns to MIT, he begins to adopt his old habits and often talks with Leonard in basements of MIT. Meanwhile, Joan unceremoniously moves out of Gloria’s home. Gloria moves into a nursing facility and soon after dies. Corey attends his mother’s funeral, which is arranged by her parents, who have not been a presence in Corey’s life. Simultaneously, Molly is reported missing at UMass. A search ensues and eventually her mutilated corpse is found in the forest. The investigation leads to Adrian via phone records. He suggests to police that Corey might be guilty. Corey and Adrian have a phone call that is very tense, as Corey suspects Adrian. During this period, Tom drinks heavily. One night Corey tells him he thinks he knows who is guilty. Cory gets in Tom’s car and leads Tom to Adrian’s house. After telling Corey to go back to Quincy, Tom proceeds to run Adrian over with his car, killing them both in the ensuing crash.

Corey spends his time at home, restless and feeling guilty and anxious about the murders. Leonard contacts investigators and gives them a sadistic note that Adrian wrote about harming women, claiming it was Corey who wrote it. Corey becomes a suspect, but he tells investigators he believes his father is framing him. Corey contacts Joan, who is skeptical of Corey’s innocence, but she agrees Leonard might indeed be guilty. She takes Corey to the trailer she picked him and Gloria up from in Ayer. Corey breaks in and finds photos of himself and his mother, sleeping. Corey continues to be restless at home. Although he is a suspect, not much movement is made to indict him. He goes to a Navy office and expresses interest in becoming a Navy Seal. Corey moves out of his mother’s home in Quincy and begins to physically train for becoming a Navy Seal.

One day, Shay calls Corey and tells him Adrian’s mother is suing him in a civil suit for wrongful death, and that Leonard is helping her. Corey drives to Malden intending to hurt and possibly kill Leonard, but he pulls over and calls the prosecutor’s office. He speaks with a detective and says he has homicidal intentions but does not want to proceed; talking soothes him and he returns home. The last few chapters depict Corey training for the Navy, and the lack of progress in either the civil or criminal cases. The novel depicts Leonard as an insomniac and alone. The final moments of the story depict Corey enlisting in the Navy. He has a seeming vision of becoming a Navy Seal and liberating victims from violent, savage oppression in a foreign country.