Inspired by the true events of the Chillicothe Six (a string of unsolved cases involving murdered women in Chillicothe Ohio), On the Savage Side follows the tale of Arcade, aka Arc, her twin sister, and other young women caught in the same cycle of drugs, abuse, prostitution, and tragedy. 

This is as tragically sad as it is beautifully written. Arc already had an enormous deck stacked against her as the daughter of addicts growing up in a mostly rural and decaying small town, and her story unfolds in a brutally predictable way. The struggles that McDaniel describes here feel incredibly real and authentic, and having spent much of my childhood in and around these parts of the US, it makes me realize how many bullets I dodged. The one person I have to thank for that is my mom. 

This book will make you sad and angry, but that's the point. Atc and her friends are so flawed and tragic that you can't help but feel connected to them and deeply sorry for them. One part of this book that made me think was how quickly Arc's mother and aunt seemed like the 'bad guys' and that Arc and her friends were the victims. But at what point do you turn from victim to a bad guy yourself? I was just left wondering how we form those types of attitudes and when we stop giving people the benefit of the doubt. 

This was an amazing book, but emotionally taxing in ways that you might not be prepared for. So please make sure you're not in a bad head space if you pick up this book. It will demand a LOT from you, but I feel like it will be equally as generous in what it gives back.