Five juniors at Las Animas High have a long history together. They love, dislike, or tolerate each other depending on the day. Occupied with class assignments, career choices, family disharmony, and the usual teen turbulence, none of them thinks seriously of the danger lurking in their near future or how fragile and temporary life is.

Inspired by real-life tragedy, the story unfolds in alternating points of view as the characters explore the resilience of their hearts and their ability to rebuild their lives after a shattering tragedy.

14+ due to adult situations

Excerpt:

Unlike Lula or most of the girls at Las Animas, Blossom didn’t wear deconstructed jeans or tees. She didn’t wear tennis shoes, but sandals or boots. Yes, Lula teased her, calling her Retro Girl. She was, but she liked having her own style. It made her feel special, and that made up for some of the rottenness, like those F’s in Jason’s class, her dad, her mom. And here she exhaled long and slow. It made up for Win. The rottenness of how he treated her.

Lula went straight to Win and dropped onto the seat across from him. “Mind if we fill up the empty side?”

Blossom took her time following, then waited next to the table a moment before easing herself onto the vinyl bench next to Lula. As much as she wanted to be near him, she dreaded it, too. She dreaded that he’d finally tell her to steer clear of him. He’d done that to other girls. He’d just done it to Melinda Bailey.