The main character is Trenton, and he is half Native American, Miccosukee to be exact. His mother is actually from England. His parents have been divorced for a long time, his father has just been released from prison, and starts out moving back in with his mother. This doesn't work really well. You see Trent had been attending a special school for music, but lately he's been slacking, and is now failing. So he gets kicked out, and has to attend the public school. Not only that, but his mom sends him to live with his father, who is now living on the reservation. Life isn't great for Trent there. He feels left out, as he doesn't understand their language. And now, his father who has been absent for most of his life is really seeming to be on his case all the time. And not just that, his dad is a drunk. And is really getting to be hard to take. So Trent has found that at his new school, the girl he grew up with as a best friend is there. And she has grown up nicely. Trent immediately seeks Pippa out, and tries to get her back as a friend, and maybe more. But there are all kinds of things in the way. Pippa's past experiences with boys, as well as the other people in her school. Trent is dealing with his father, and then he is drinking, and doing drugs. Plus his mother has a boyfriend that he doesn't like, and he feels abandoned by her.
I think the story is really the way a teen would think and act. I just don't know if it is the way the e-galley was formatted that made it hard for me in some parts to not feel like I was missing something, but I just wanted a bit more at the beginning I think. The end was great, I love how that went, good, but really a learning experience, and of course, always things to work on. A great realistic fiction, and I am still a big Crissa-Jean Chappell fan, as you can tell from this picture with her back at BEA 2012.
