A Scout is Brave by Will Ludwigsen a Book Review by Tony Jones
In the summer of 1963, Bud Castillo moved with his family from busy Queens, NY, to the bleak town of Innsmouth, MA, after a local oil consortium hired his father to help with a drilling platform off the coast. Bud meets a kindred spirit in the town library, Aubrey, the only other boy in town. Scouting is the cornerstone of Bud’s life, and founding a troop in Innsmouth is the only way he can conceive of coping with what he is sure is a disastrous move. But the delights of that summer are coming to an end, as Bud discovers that Reverend Pritchett of the Evangelical Progress Temple has plans to return Innsmouth to greatness and glory. Ultimately, Bud must embrace the values of a brave Scout to navigate the mysterious happenings in Innsmouth.
The Scouts and cosmic horror do battle
in beautifully pitched 1963 set novella
A Scout is Brave by Will Ludwigsen a Book Review by Tony Jones
Set in the state of Massachusetts, New England, in the fictional town of Innsmouth; fans of classic early twentieth century American horror might well raise as eyebrow should they decide to take a chance on A Scout is Brave. Even if you have no idea of the significance of Innsmouth in the annals of horror fiction, it will not lessen the enjoyment of this perfectly formed 150-page novella. If you are in the know of its importance, then this terrific story is a fine homage which will soon have you smiling.
1963 might be before my time, but I still managed to catch the aura of nostalgia for this bygone era.
It might not punch me in the gut like the eighties or nineties, but Will Ludwigsen does an outstanding job of sucking the reader into the time of JFK, racial unrest and the feeling of change coming around the corner with Bob Dylan (unless you live in Innsmouth). However, he simultaneously makes it unnervingly clear there is something different about this particular small town and that thirteen-year-old narrator Bud Castillo is not exactly sure why. A Scout is brave in the face of these mysterious changes.
The understated and conversational narration, almost meditative or confessional, is one of the highlights of A Scout is Brave, as Bud is telling his strange story from many years after the fact. The reader can tell that the peculiar events have never left him and in some way played a part in defining his life. The story opens with the youngster and his parents relocating to Innsmouth, after a local oil consortium hire his father to help with a drilling platform one mile off the coast. It quickly becomes obvious there is no oil and that the town is seeking something else.
Whilst this mystery bubbles in the background
The narrative turns to Bud who meets Aubrey, the only other boy in town. Even though they are chalk and cheese they bond and their developing friendship is a real highlight of this beautifully pitched coming-of-age novella. The supernatural element is kept simmering nicely on the backburner, and I am not going into spoilers, keeping its true nature shrouded, with the exception of a few hindsight comments from the reflective adult Bud. This approach ensures that a brave Scout like Bud takes centre stage in the narrative.
What I enjoyed also was the fact that even if the town felt weird, it did not feel dangerous and did not fall into the trope of what you might normally find in ‘small town horror.’ The locals were eccentric and peculiar rather than threatening, with events beginning to take shape upon visiting the Evangelical Progress Temple, led by bigshot Reverend Pritchett.
I revelled in Bud’s amusingly naïve,
but down-to-earth honest take on the world and how much of it is framed around the Scout movement. Bud loves the Scouts and would happily build his life around the Scout rule book, which he passes onto Aubrey, both physically and in spirit. This was very touching and the Scouts references, coupled with the coming-of-age vibe do give the book a YA feel, although it might be too slow for many teen readers.
There is little violence and only a few f-bombs, so I would happily recommend it to teens 14+ seeking a quiet, reflective, and thoughtful read. This is not smash-bang-horror and is all the better for it. It reminded me somewhat of SL Coney’s Wild Spaces (2023), another novella with a similarly aged little boy, remote location with darkness approaching, but the monsters are much closer to home than in this story. A Scout is brave even in the face of emotional or spiritual challenges.
Cosmic horror and coming-of-age stories are occasional bedfellows, but the manner in which this is framed around Bud trying to do the ‘right thing’ as he is a good boy Scout was a particular highlight, some of which went against his nature. Bud’s father was also a fine creation, dismissive of the Scouts, but supportive of his son and a straight talker loved by Bud. Everybody knows the key historical event of 1963 and the understated manner in which in plays out in A Scout is Brave really caught the emotion of the moment, which is replicated in its moving and reflective ending. True friendship never dies and this story captures it. America has cornered the market for weird little towns, but there are few more iconic than Innsmouth and it is well worth a visit.
Tony Jones
