This One Time with Julia

A young man finds his life turned upside down when his twin brother mysteriously disappears.

“Dave Lampson’s writing is magic. Heartrending, strange and wise—I loved it.”—Anna Godbersen, New York Times bestselling author of The Luxe and Bright Young Things

“A thrilling, engrossing read. Lampson is an exciting new talent.”—Blake Nelson, author of They Came from Below

Joe’s twin brother, Alvin, disappeared. And with him went Joe’s tenuous grip on real life. The rest of it: the road trip, the maybe-murder, the burned-down house—all that came later.

At eighteen, Joe is stuck in limbo. Directionless and simple, he blows through his inheritance playing poker and eating only cheeseburgers, pizza, and guacamole. Then Alvin disappears—and Julia, Alvin’s tempestuous girlfriend, takes Joe on a whirlwind road trip from LA to Tennessee. There, he’s thrust into the dysfunctional dynamic of her wealthy family. For the first time, Joe has a job. He has a suit that he wears every day. And he’s in love with a crazy, beautiful girl who only talks honestly in her sleep. Joe’s so blinded by his seductive new life that he almost misses the truth about what happened to his twin. This is the story about one time when Joe went on a road trip that changed his life.