The Golden Boy

With the ability of Mike did he have much of an option? "I was the Miracle Boy, once upon a time. Later on, the Milford Mute. The Golden Boy. The Young Ghost. The Kid. The Boxman. The Lock Artist. That was all me. But you can call me Mike."(3). Mike a very intriguing character became mute after a traumatic incident at his early childhood being raised throughout his life by Uncle Lito who really wasn't a great parent with the best parenting skills for Mike who was liquor store owner but did his best to provide safety for him. His silence was a mystery for some but helpful for him as he lead down a path of crimes that affected him with his special talent called by many different nicknames but the boy wonder faced many difficulties as his profession of breaking codes of many safe's was a wrong idea for him. Throughout the book Steve Hamilton portrays many writing styles but out of all he does a good job using imagery.

Mike's silence is what draws him into two different worlds. Throughout the story, Steve Hamilton does a good job describing Mike's time with the lock picking and safe cracking as he uses detail on describing how he would do it. This would happen in the ones where Mike taught himself to open locks and during his training with the Ghost. When mentioned his silence draws him to two different worlds means his life as picking locks without a key and his other talent with pen and a drawing pad. In his first world he uses drawing as a refuge from his silent interactions and criticism that follow him using a pen and a note pad to escape. His second world of difficulties is picking locks just like the time in Los Angeles, January 2000 job for Mr. Marsh in Beverly Hills, "I put my hand on the dial and started spinning. As I turned back to the safe, I could feel the sweat running down my back. The Dial was slippery in my hand, but I knew I'd be able to open it."(134). As the job consisted of him doing the tough part of picking the locks and getting the bundles of cash in each safe throughout his time. During the same job the author is descriptive in being able to use imagery while Gunnar and Mike are trying to get out of the house after unlocking the safe, "We were right in front of the sensor. A tilt of the head would set it off. A blink would set it off. You are a statue. The rotation of the earth is the only thing moving you. Your hair is growing faster than you're moving." (135). It is easy to follow along and visualize with the author as through parts of the book he shows descriptive visuals that are happening with Mike.

The narrative describes the pictures, the artistic style, and the words so that you almost see the illustrations yourself throughout the book while following on Mike whether it's art or breaking into safe's. Steve Hamilton focuses on how Michael views the events of the story, the world around him how he reacts and others to effectively