Luli lives in Lancaster, Neb., one of those parched and barren Midwestern locales that stands in for everything that’s godforsaken and passed by in “Hick” by Andrea Portes.

(“Hick” by Andrea Portes, Unbridled Books, 245 pages, $14.95 paperback). Step aside, Huckleberry Finn. Scoot over a barstool, Holden Caulfield. Make room for Luli McMullen. Luli, 13, of rural ...

Plus, some girls just move faster than others: Moretz’s character in Hick is an unhappy 13-year-old named Luli who doesn’t yet know how to use her sexual allure, though she’s vaguely aware ...