Right Behind You

by Gail Giles

Summary: How do you live with yourself if you intentionally kill a child by burning him to death? What if you were only a child yourself when it happened? When Kip gets out of the juvenile facility at the age of 14 after serving his time for this crime, he and his family must move and assume new identities so the community won't harrass them. No one would want their child to go to school with Kip, to be his friend. In his new town and new school, Kip struggles with his own massive guilt, and whether or not he can ever be himself or be honest with anyone if he doesn't reveal his terrible secret.

My thoughts: Right Behind You is extremely disturbing. Kip's crime, and his reason for committing it, is tough to swallow. His internal struggle is painful to read, but it's a great story about learning to forgive yourself.