The Boy Who Skipped by Jeff Adkins

“There is a very fine line that many in Appalachia walk between stagnation and progression that all too easily can move one way or the other, depending on any number of factors. Adkins captured that notion of uncertainty, and told a story that many of us know all too well. It is one that ultimately tells us that despite our own misgivings, there’s a little bit of Jeff Mason in all of us, and if we’re lucky, there’s a Carol Combs out there waiting with the same expectations of excellence, and with the same drive to see that we meet those expectations.”

- Hazard Herald


The Boy Who Skipped tells three intertwined stories:  Jeff Mason auditions for the school play as a favor to his older sister.   He is a bright science geek, looking for his place in the universe as well as in the hallways of his school. Lynn Anderson is a gifted actress and cheerleader, seeking something to make her life meaningful in her new rural school far from the suburban life she had expected and the suburban life she feared. And young teacher Carol Caudill is determined to bring the beauty and power of theater to a town that would just as soon live without it...and heaven help anyone who stands in her way.


The story is set in a small town in 1970’s Eastern Kentucky. Based on real events, it tells stories about how these three people and a group of young actors set out to do what everyone told them was impossible.




© Jeff Adkins 2014