This is a tale of two families, one of privilege and another of poverty. Karen and Mark Breakstone are comfortably ensconced in a spacious Manhattan apartment with their adolescent daughter, Heather. Bobby Klasky is a 30-ish day laborer who grew up in drug-ridden squalor in a New Jersey slum.

The Breakstone family is child-centric; everything revolves around their perfect child. Bobby Klasky was born in a setting of neglect. Oddly, his only positive social support comes is the parole officer he connects with after committing a crime.

Written in a breezy style, Matthew Weiner’s tale of how these two disparate worlds intersect is gripping. The reader knows something bad is about to happen but isn’t’ sure what.

I loved Weiner’s ability to write “tight,” develop believable characters, and deliver a message about class and economic disparity.