Runyon follows the critical success of Burn Journals (2004) with a foray into fiction that features another troubled teenaged boy. The 16-year-old protagonist finds himself awash in self-doubt and insecurity when his family moves to a new town after the tragic death of his older, more gregarious, brother. Plagued with “maybes,” (“maybe she’ll have sex with me,” “maybe I should join the Thespians”), the young man’s most worrisome doubts are that his brother might have crashed his car on purpose, and that he might be heading down the same road of self-destruction. When at school or with friends, his grief is held at bay; however, the few scenes in which the boy interacts with his parents are particularly poignant in their portrayal of how a family tries to move forward despite their heartache. The common insecurities of adolescence—specifically of hormonally charged teenaged boys—coupled with the added drama and intrigue surrounding the brother’s accident, make this an accessible work for a wide, albeit older, teen audience. (Fiction. YA)
