The thing about my uncle was that I hardly knew him. Uncle Theo kept to himself, some would say he was a recluse, and by all accounts, that was how he preferred it.

I couldn't precisely recall when I had seen him last in the flesh. I just had a foggy recollection from when I was little, like a grainy home movie with cracks and skips and frames missing.

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Although ten years have passed, Rhett Littlefield has always blamed himself for his father abandoning him and his family. When the troubled fourteen-year-old gets kicked out of school for his latest run-in with the vice principal, his frazzled single mother sends him to the hollers of Eastern Kentucky to stay with his Uncle Theo, a man of few words who leads an isolated existence with his loyal dog, Chekhov.

Resigned to make the best of his situation while still longing for the day when Mama will allow him to return home, Rhett settles into his new life. Rhett barely remembers his uncle, but he's determined to get to know him.

As he does, Rhett discovers that he and Uncle Theo share a connection to the past, one that has altered both their lives, a past that will soon come calling. The Thing About My Uncle is an engaging and heartwarming coming-of-age story that explores the cost of family secrets, the strength of family bonds, and the importance of reconciling the two in order to move forward.

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