The Ultimate Gift

Content Warning: This book sometimes engages in ableist and stereotypical views of disability, particularly blindness. It sometimes trivializes these disabilities. The book contains depictions of foster homes and may engage in stereotypical ideas of adoptive families. It contains references to death by suicide.

The posh law offices of Hamilton, Hamilton, & Hamilton are located in Boston. Founder Theodore Hamilton, his son, and grandson preside over a firm that’s one of the most powerful and prestigious in Massachusetts and handles cases for US presidents, industrial tycoons, and other elite clients. Jason’s monthly tasks begin around the “massive” table in the conference room. A large TV airs Red’s videotaped assignments as Hamilton, assisted by Hastings, performs the duties of Red Stevens’s executor.

The offices are meant to signal the intimidating respectability and power of the firm, though this is lost on the arrogant, spoiled Jason. As the months progress and Jason mellows, the law offices become a sanctuary where he can discuss what he’s learned, receive mentoring, and bond with Hamilton and Hastings in friendship. The offices at first seem to epitomize materialism and wealth but by the end are the source of Jason’s tasks and the ultimate “gift” that he receives, subverting reader expectations.