Unflinching and deeply human—Derek Green perfectly encapsulates the quiet dramas of modern America.

The characters in Jackson State live in a land of contradictions—where wealth and poverty, beauty and decay, hope and despair exist side by side. In this striking collection, Derek Green brings the American Midwest to life, tracing the tensions of class and race through intimate, unforgettable stories.

A father’s protective instinct threatens to unravel his family. A single mother must confront the dangers lurking outside her door. Two siblings navigate the fallout of their father’s militia ties. On the shores of Lake Michigan, a prodigal daughter’s return forces a reckoning with the past. With sharp prose and stark realism, Green captures the struggles and complexities of contemporary American life, establishing Green as a storyteller in the tradition of Carver, Updike, and Cheever.