This was absolutely heart-breaking! I liked that the First Look started in the middle of the memoir because it threw you right in. I was getting a combination of The Glass Castle and Educated - a chaotic, erratic family life, with just a smidgen of hope. You know that it turns out relatively okay, since Mikel is telling the story as an adult, but the part about the bike - ugh! - my heart felt that one! The imagery is great, the emotions come through. The aspect that felt a little flat was the dialogue, especially in the scene where his mother is not allowing Paul into the house and it's a lot of "and she said..", "so I said." I get that it is not direct quotes, but it still lacked something.