A magnificent collection that traces the lives of young, working-class people navigating love, grief, survival, and the pursuit of something more

In eight breathtaking stories, Locals explores what we owe each other as children, parents, lovers, and friends—and what it means to find a sense of belonging when those roles become indelibly warped. Set in the aughts, Jared Jackson’s dazzling collection vibrates with an unforgettable cast of funny and achingly frank young people who are forced to grow up too quickly in a deeply stratified Hartford, Connecticut. As characters reappear across these interlocking stories, we’re invited to see them again through the eyes of others and to consider the tenderness that lies beneath their brashness and bravery.

In “Bebo,” a brazen idea tests how far loyalty stretches between friends. In “Little River,” a young couple reflects on their collective past while making decisions about their individual futures. And in the collection’s titular story, a college student grapples with identity and acceptance when he learns the use of a single word—local—can either be a swift accusation or a worthy inheritance.

From absent parents and fractured bonds to found family and profound acts of care, Locals is at once a love letter to a city’s people and a critique of its inequities. What emerges is a collection as fluent in its characters’ frustrations as it is in their triumphs. A striking vision for reclamation—of faith in city, and faith in self—Locals announces Jackson as a generational talent.