HYLAND PENS A RESTRAINED, EMOTIONALLY TAUT, AND SOMETIMES ODDLY FUNNY PORTRAIT OF A MISFIT--JOHN EGAN, A 12-YEAR-OLD IN THE BODY OF A GROWN MAN WITH THE VOICE OF A GIANT, AND AN OBSESSION FOR THE "GUINNESS BOOK OF WORLD RECORDS." CARRY ME DOWN IS AN ENGROSSING STORY THAT AT ITS HEART EXAMINES AN ADOLESCENT S DIFFICULTIES NAVIGATING THE WORLD. JOHN EGAN IS A MISFIT -- A TWELVE-YEAR-OLD IN THE BODY OF A GROWN MAN WITH THE VOICE OF A GIANT -- WHO DILIGENTLY KEEPS TRACK OF THE LIES LARGE AND SMALL THAT ARE TOLD TO HIM. JOHN S BEEN ABLE TO DETECT LIES FOR AS LONG AS HE CAN REMEMBER; IT S A SOURCE OF POWER BUT ALSO GREAT CONSTERNATION FOR SOMEONE SO YOUNG. WITH AN OBSESSION FOR THE GUINNESS BOOK OF WORLD RECORDS, A KEENLY INQUISITIVE MIND, AND A KIND OF FAITH, JOHN REMAINS HOPEFUL DESPITE THE UNFAVORABLE CARDS LIFE DEALS HIM. JOHN IS LIKE A TUNING FORK, SENSITIVE TO THE VIBRATIONS WITHIN HIMSELF AND THE TROUBLE THAT THIS CREATES FOR HIM AND HIS FAMILY, AND WHEN HIS SANITY REACHES NEAR COLLAPSE, A FRIGHTENING FAMILY CATASTROPHE THREATENS TO DESTROY THEM. CARRY ME DOWN IS A RESTRAINED, EMOTIONALLY TAUT, AND SOMETIMES ODDLY FUNNY PORTRAIT WHOSE DRAMA DRIVES TOWARD, BUT NARROWLY AVERTS, AN UNTHINKABLE DISASTER.