a childhood friend of Miles', he is an honorable man who watches out for students like John and Tick. He plays a pivotal role when John "snaps". Candace Burke—Tick's classmate and best friend. Very talkative, she regales Tick with stories of her apparently active love-life. When Zack begins flirting with her in an effort to make Tick jealous, Candace has no problem dumping her previous boyfriend for a chance with him. She finds some amusement when Zack picks on John, but is inevitably involved when John reaches his breaking point. Justin Dibble—He's Zack's best friend, and has a crush on Candace. Overweight, with a penchant for junk food, he participates with Zack in taunting John, although he draws limits when Zack breaks into John's house. He, too, is affected by John's revenge. Critical reaction In the New York Times, critic A. O. Scott praised the novel, writing "Russo's command of his story is unerring, but his manner is so unassuming that his mastery is easy to miss." Writing in the Christian Science Monitor, Ron Charles pointed to the author's ability to empathize with difficult characters. "What’s remarkable about Russo is his willingness to climb into the minds of the vain, the stupid, the stubborn, even the cruel, and discover in their vulnerable souls the germs of dormant humanity." Publishers Weekly called the book Russo's "biggest, boldest novel yet" and predicted brisk sales. Miniseries adaptation The novel was adapted as an eponymous, two part mini-series that aired on HBO in 2005, produced by Marc E. Platt, and starring Ed Harris, Helen Hunt, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Dennis Farina, Joanne Woodward, and Paul Newman (in his last live action role). At the author's suggestion, much of it was filmed in 10 towns in Maine, including Kennebunkport, Skowhegan, Winslow, and Waterville in Maine. The church being painted in several scenes, is on Water Street, in Waterville. The film won a Golden Globe for Best Mini-Series Made for Television in 2006; Paul Newman won a Golden Globe, a Primetime Emmy Award, a Screen Actors Guild Award and further recognitions as best Supporting Actor in a Mini-series. Empire Grill During the filming of the Empire Falls miniseries, a pizza parlor in downtown Skowhegan, Maine, was transformed into a greasy spoon diner called Empire Grill. The establishment closed six years later, due to a depressed local economy. In 2011, a Thai restaurant opened in the space. References