Gut-wrenching and heart-pounding from Page 1.

Why is Isaac soaking wet? From the very first line, this book reaches out and grabs you. The time period is so immediately recognizable, with just a date and a line from the radio, you have an immediate sense of the environment and atmosphere of the world. Pete is about to embark on an unexpected and unwanted journey, growing up much too quickly and facing a catastrophic loss that will shape him from this moment on. Though he is young, the reader has a very strong sense that he is possessed of a deep soul. His journey is one that I want to witness, that I am hungry to read. Especially as he has Isaac by his side to help him face the coming loss. The reader knows intuitively that Isaac and Pete are as close as brothers and will rely heavily on one another throughout their lives. At least, that is the expectation. But at the end of the first chapter, as Pete comes face-to-face with mortality and dangles in the arms of his friend, we are shocked and terrified, wondering, Why is Isaac soaking wet?