AMERICAN RUST by Philipp Meyer

Set solidly among the derelict steel mills of the Rust Belt around Buell, Pennsylvania, American Rust is a sad tale of desperate people stuck in a decaying community. A few hours after one of the protagonists, smart and nerdy Issac English finally makes a move to get out of that place, he and his tough guy friend Billy Poe get caught up in accidently murdering a homeless man. Poe ends up getting arrested and jailed for the crime that Issac technically committed. Issac hits the road, with $4000 stolen from his parapalegic father, romanticising his boxcar-riding journey to the promised land of Berkeley, California. The plot traces his journey, the incarceration of Billy Poe, and some complications with the town chief of police and Poe's mother. Throughout the story, the darkly beautiful countryside reflects the mood of the characters and their desperation to extricate themselves from their troubled lives. It's a solid, well told first novel with a lot of heart.

click here to read a review of the book from NY Times:   http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/22/books/review/Robinson-t.html