The Grace That Keeps This World, by Tom Bailey, is a gripping novel about the Hazen family who have lived in Lost Lake their entire lives. In this novel, Kevin Hazen, a 19-year-old young man, searches for his place in the world and in his own family. He wants more for his life than the survival life his parents lived their entire lives. The Hazen family's story centers on the first day of deer season. For the Hazens, this hunting is more than just a sport. They use the meat from each deer they kill to help them survive the winter. Traditionally, Kevin, his father, Gary Hazen, and his brother, Gary David, all head out together for the first hunt at 2 a.m. after a breakfast of homemade pancakes, but this year it's different. Kevin wants to free himself from his family's life and doesn't want to go hunting with his father and brother. He doesn't understand why his father is so determined and Kevin doesn't want to live his father's life. Gary is a forester and finds it important to work hard to provide for his family and preserve nature. Kevin, like most children, doesn't understand his father's way of thinking and wants to live his own life. A life far from Lost Lake. Kevin attempts to break free from his father's lifestyle by attending a nearby college, hoping to eventually become a teacher. Gary is unhappy with his son's decision to go to school and Kevin does not understand his father's point of view, causing the two to clash throughout the novel. But a tragic accident pushes Kevin to fight for his life and that of his father. Having to use the knowledge and skills his father had taught him, Kevin suddenly realizes that his father was right after all. Bailey says... middle of paper ...... this with his family. He continues to study and work to achieve his dream, but he begins to work hard to provide for his family. He understands why his father tried to teach him all the things he considered useless or unfair. Just like when Ulysses finally returns home to his family, Kevin finds his way back to his own. Although at first Kevin thought the house would move out of Lost Lake and away from his father's lifestyle, he later found out he was wrong. This new home was unexpected, he would never have predicted that this would be the outcome of his life. But he was nevertheless at home. Our Ulysses, in The Grace That Keeps This World, goes through difficulties, but eventually finds his way home. Bailey ingeniously writes his novel as a modern-day odyssey, with our tragic hero Kevin overcoming all the problems that come his way to finally return home..