Author: Lauren Myracle
What it’s about (in 75 words or fewer): Cat's childhood friend, an openly-gay teenager in the small North Carolina town of Black Creek, was severely beaten and left for dead. While Patrick lies in a coma, Cat questions everyone in her small town to figure out who did this to Patrick, and also confronts a boy who sexually assaulted her three years previously, as well as systematic poverty, drug addiction, homophobia, racism, and desperation in Black Creek.
What I think (in 250 words or fewer): The mystery is very easy to figure out, even though I had a sad feeling in my stomach because I did not want for this character to be guilty--I really liked and felt bad for him! I stubbornly held on to the belief that it was another character, the openly "bad guy," but then, surprisingly, he feels remorseful for his actions (and has a solid alibi).
