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In this visceral and touching young adult novel, teenager Megan Brennar's family moves across the country to get a fresh start after the unexpected death of her mother. Once a promising artist, Megan has lost herself in her grief and expects their new life in Missouri to be nothing but misery. Everything changes for her—and soon for the entire Brennar family—when she meets Shawn, a troubled loner who misses school for weeks at a time. As Megan gets to know the beautiful but evasive Shawn, she begins to realize that he is involved in something dark and dangerous, and her proximity to him simultaneously helps him and makes things worse. When the abuse Shawn suffers at home comes to light, and his life is at stake, the entire Brennar family must step in to help. In the process of trying to save Shawn, they come to heal some of their own wounds as well.
While some of the violence and descriptions of sexual abuse in the author's novel may not be suitable for all readers, Miller adroitly navigates the horror of abuse she shows while never exploiting the subject matter. Authority figures who help Shawn throughout the text act as exemplars of how to protect at-risk youth. Despite the dark themes, the novel has many moments of beauty and hope. The narrative moves effortlessly from romance to action scenes, and the believable dialogue and heartbreakingly relatable characters will stay with readers long after they have finished reading. Miller delicately handles the difficult topics of abuse, trauma, and grief in a story that is, at its core, about the healing power of compassion and love.
RECOMMENDED by the US Review