So the moral of the story is that the bad guy always wins..

That ending was such a shame - annoying really. Not just that the main character dies, but the fact that the Dawson's father keeps winning, always gets in the last lethal blow in every confrontation, and keeps getting away with all these crimes/child abuse/murder with no consequences. It'd be easier to accept Dawson's death if we knew that justice would be served and that Dawson's dad would go to prison for the rest of his life, but we get none of that redemption. I hate when the bad guy wins. There's no justice/consequence for all those times his dad beat up Tuck, wrecks his garden with his truck, savagely beats his son (who doesn't fight back).

All those chances young Dawson had to kill Tommy and put an end to the misery. It's Louisiana, so if he could prove it was self-defence, which it clearly was, then Dawson wouldn't likely be charged and sentenced for murder. Tommy had too much control - he should've been beaten back down by the end. If they had to kill off Dawson, then at least they should've taken his dad down with him, or at least had some sort of resolution/justice.

Didn't that bother anyone? Does the book end a different way? (in terms of more detail as to whether Tommy goes to jail?)