"Hey, do you remember Tyler?"
"Yeah, I haven't seen him in a while, why?"
"He's dead. Crashed into the side of the hill up by the lake. I heard he was drunk."
"What? He didn't even have his license."
"Yeah, I guess he took the car to go see his girlfriend while his parents were out of town."
Weird. I should feel something about this. Sadness. Grief. I don't know. Should I miss him? This coming-of-age story tells the story of our protagonist's first year of high school. His use of drugs and sex to cope with the mental and physical abuse he suffers at home leads him into difficult situations that he must learn to navigate on his own. Witnessing betrayal and devious behavior all around him, he begins to learn how the world really works.
A modern-day Catcher in the Rye, Jefferson shares the first-person perspective of an angsty, fearful teen as he deals with the uncertain transition between youth and adulthood. This raw, uncensored look into the young adult experience offers insight into the mental-health issues we carry into adulthood.