Author(s): Ellen Wittlinger

General Fiction

"Derek really liked me -- at least, he acted that way. I liked him too at first, but it lasted only a few weeks before he was getting on my nerves. And once I break it off with a guy, I don't even want to see him anymore. For a while I feel like I don't want to see any guys anymore, but that doesn't last long either." Sandpiper Hollow Ragsdale has a bad reputation. At first she just wanted a boyfriend, but now she's had a dozen and doesn't know what she saw in any of them. When one of Sandy's exes, Derek, starts harassing her, a mysterious boy called the Walker comes to her aid. Walker spends his days wandering through town. When Sandy begins to walk with him, he evades her questions, unwilling to reveal anything about himself. She's interested but wary -- why is Walker so secretive? As Derek's aggressions turn dangerous, Sandy and Walker are forced to confront the pain of their pasts, which each of them would rather forget. Ellen Wittlinger's powerful story of two people struggling to overcome personal demons exemplifies why "School Library Journal" said that her writing "conveys a fundamental truth" and that she "evokes caring in readers and gives them plenty to think about."