Pipeliner by Shawn Hartje
For seventeen-year-old Jason Krabb, high school life in 1990s Idaho is a world of cargo shorts, cassette tapes, and junk food. Plagued equally by algebra and puberty, Jason sets out to find a girlfriend and become a rock guitarist. His quest is irreversibly jolted when he attends a bonfire and meets an alluring girl from the other side of town and a rag tag crew who are bringing gas lines through the desert in order to keep the lights on in Portland and Seattle, places where Jason hopes to find his nirvana as a guitarist.
Meanwhile, things deteriorate at home. Jason’s pediatrician mom, Leah, sadly faces the twilight of her parenting years while his father, Curtis, contends with the enormity of running a big ticket research laboratory and coming to terms with his son’s wayward path.
Pipeliner is at once a coming of age love story and a comical timestamp of early 90s family life. Set in the fictional Idaho town of Helen Springs, pop. 58,000, its characters are as vibrant as the lofty peaks and purple sunsets of the high desert. Here we find rich farmers, poor ranchers, dutiful Mormons, government honchos, disgruntled vets, drug-dealing bruisers, irksome teachers, and spirited students, all doing their best to keep the lights on.
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Author’s Bio
Shawn Hartje was raised in Sioux City, Iowa and has lived in Idaho, Colorado and West Virginia. He has lived in Northern California since 2002. He enjoys high desert scenery, paddling rivers, and skateboarding with his kids.
My Review
4 stars
Jason Krabb is trying to find his place in the world in a small Idaho town in the 90’s. His family has some money with a successful pediatrician for a mother and a less successful father that constantly has to hear it from his wife. Jason was the star of the swim team but now that it is disbanded he doesn’t know what to do. He hears about some pipeliners that are laying pipe for gas and is kicking around the idea to drop out of high school to work with them then head to Portland or Seattle to be a rock star.
Jason’s parents don’t think he can live up to his older, smarter brother’s standards. He is an average student and focuses on his guitar. Jason is trying to figure out where he fits into the world when he meets new girl Betsy and is drawn to her and the pipeliners. Of course he is going to experiment with sex, drugs, rock and roll to find himself.
When I first read the summary to Pipeliners I had to laugh. I could think of the stupid stuff that I did as a teenager. When I read about Jason thinking he could just be a rock star or simply dropping out of school to lay pipeline I had to chuckle. I remember those half-baked ideas that sound award winning when you are young.
Although you have an idea of where this story is going, it’s about the journey. I was laughing and remembering the 90’s for myself. I grew up in a small farming/ranching area so I understand a lot of what Jason is going through. It’s a good read of one kid trying to figure out himself and his place in the world.
I received Pipeliner from the author for free. This has in no way influenced my opinion of this book.
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