Aftermath
CBC Books | Posted: June 28, 2018 9:49 PM | Last Updated: June 29, 2018
Kelley Armstrong
Three years ago, Skye's brother Luka died in a mass shooting at the local high school. But there's no sympathy for Skye and her family because Luka wasn't a victim — he was a shooter. Now, Skye returns to the small town she had fled to start anew. But the scars of the past don't heal easily. And there's one person Skye dreads seeing most: Jesse Mandal. Her childhood crush and former best friend until the massacre tore them apart.
Told in alternating points of view, Skye and Jesse wade into the mystery of what took place that fateful day. But someone clearly doesn't want Skye back in town, and when she and Jesse uncover new evidence that could clear Luka's name, it becomes obvious that someone wants the past to stay buried. In the aftermath of violence, someone has to pay. Blood for blood. (From Penguin Teen)
From the book
I will not say that the day Jesse Mandal asked me out was the best of my life. That's silly, trite, foolish. But I was thirteen, which means I was all of those things. After school, I would have danced home, humming "Best Day Ever." I'd have tweeted cryptic emojis of hearts and endless exclamation marks. I'd have lain in bed listening to All-Time Five sing about love, glorious love.
I was thirteen. I was that girl. But I didn't dance home at the end of the day. I didn't send any tweets. I never listened to ATF again. Because after that day, I'd never be that girl again.
From Aftermath by Kelley Armstrong ©2018. Published by Penguin Teen.