Basic plot is there are two families that have grown close over the past four years when one of the two families moved near the other one. In one family. there is a mom and her two sons (her husband, Roy, passed away of cancer two years prior). The other family is a mom, dad, and Jordan, an only child. The first mom find Jordan walking to school in the rain one morning and picks him up, insisting he ride with her to school. But he was acting all out of sorts and insisted she stop at a gas station so he could use the restroom; he says he is going to be sick. She does. He goes inside, but never comes out. After waiting for awhile, she decides maybe he needs help or is really sick. She finds something else completely - Jordan has attempted suicide by stabbing himself with a needle filled with drugs in his neck. He is foaming at the mouth and unconscious. She drags him to her car and hightails it to the nearest hospital, calling to say they were on their way. And what the doctors and nurses uncover is long-standing sexual abuse. After a home search, they find that he has been a victim of sexual abuse at the hands of his father for quite some time.
This book is gripping. It is sad. And definitely for mature readers. The summary on the back of the book suggests that the other family is going to foster young Jordan, which I think will introduce more conflict, as the kids are not exactly friendly with each other. And I hope and pray for a happy ending this time around. It is one of the saddest beginnings of a book I have ever read...
This does sound like a good but tragic novel.
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