Winner of the U.P. Notable Book Award (2025)

"The Last Huck stands out as one of the most impressive debut novels of this decade."-Joseph D. Haske, author of North Dixie Highway

Jakob, Niklas and Peter Kinnunen grew up playing together on their family's berry farm on the Keweenaw Peninsula in Michigan's U.P. The three of them inherit the land when their beloved uncle passes away, but Jakob goes to prison and Peter, who goes broke during the 2008 financial crash, calls Niklas and suggests they sell the land for fast cash. Niklas fights back against Peter, but Peter convinces Niklas to take a trip up north, from their homes in Milwaukee, to visit the place and get closure. Haunted by their childhoods and the absence of their beloved Jakob, they spend the weekend drinking, fighting, reminiscing and trying to figure out whether or not to sell. Woven together with moments going back four generations, The Last Huck is the saga of a family ravaged by time and modernity, yet holding on to one another for dear life.

"In his first novel, J.D. Austin vividly captures the painful conflicts among the young men as they spend one last weekend in a place that were the scenes of their happiest childhood memories."-Jon C. Stott, author, Summers at the Lake: Upper Michigan Moments and Memories

"We are a large country with many regional literatures. I find the analogy between the 19th-century regional novel and J.

D. Austin's The Last Huck provocative and literate."-Donald M. Hassler, Professor Emeritus of English, Kent State University

"The adventure that ensues not only immediately draws the reader in, but does so in a fashion that makes it virtually impossible to put the book down. It is always a joy for seasoned sojourners to witness young talent, such as J. D. Austin, blossom and flourish as we pass through this life."-Michael Carrier author, Jack Handler Mysteries