Growing Through The Ugly

Growing Through the Ugly by Diego Vazquez Jr. begins with a death and then proceeds to examine a life. Both the corpse and the life belong to Buzzy Digit, a casualty in the Vietnam War whose coffin is being transported back to his hometown of El Paso, Texas. As the plane carrying his body takes off, Buzzy's soul also takes flight, reviewing the events of a short life scarred by abandonment, sexual molestation, and fear. Despite these early setbacks, Buzzy learns to transcend his troubles with the help of his cousin, Red. The knowledge of Buzzy's eventual fate invests his struggles to find a place for himself with a bittersweet quality that lingers after the book is done.