Expected publication January 1, 2024
From the opening lines of the prologue, it's clear that someone will not survive this story. Two young boys stand at a grave they have visited often, but we don't know which two are above ground and which friend is buried. It's just enough to provide a taste of things to come. To cast a shadow of foreboding over this heart-stopping coming-of-age tale.
Three best friends, 12 year old Taylor, Jackie, and Kevin do everything together. Their friendship and loyalty to one another is fierce. But one in this trio is not like the others. Jackie and Kevin have normal happy homes. Taylor lives with constant abuse and neglect. His home life is a never ending torment. His friends know that his father hits him but they have no idea the depths of suffering he endures. Taylor doesn't speak about it, and out of respect for his privacy, they never ask.
When Taylor has taken more than he can stand, he leaves a note that guarantees he can never return home and goes off to spend the night with his friends in a fort they have built. He has no plans for what he'll do when the night is over, he only knows he never wants to see his father again.
Secrets will come out, and a twist of fate will change everything this night.
I finished this book in one sitting. I almost never do that, but once I started there was no way I could stop. It put me through a gamut of emotions from rage, to hope, to sorrow. Chad Lutzke is an expert at testing your empathy by writing characters that are impossible not to connect with.
5 out of 5 stars
My thanks to Cemetery Dance Publications.
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