Mason Boyd, aka "Main Boy," is from a nearby affluent neighbourhood where he and his raucous friends ride around in tricked-out golf carts, shoot their fathers' shotguns, and aspire to make Internet pranking videos. While Pearl is out scavenging in the woods, she meets Main Boy, who eventually reveals that his father has purchased the property on which Pearl and the others are squatting. With all the power in Main Boy's hands, an unbalanced relationship forms between the two, culminating in a devastating scene of violence and humiliation.

Huck Finn meets We the Animals in this dreamy yet urgent Southern Gothic tale, 'classic coming-of-age novel that lingers with the reader long after the last page' (Booklist, starred review)