Joe Micik

There is a stereotype of college kids, even those heading there for the first time: they like to drink, party, smoke, and break whatever other rules they can, if only for the sake of breaking them. Connor Reynolds does not fit this description.

Connor is an 18-year old young man from a small town in Michigan who heads to Ohio for college, and on the outside, he appears to be a standoffish killjoy with no real desire to be there or make friends. What the people there don’t know is why.

As it turns out, Connor used to behave like a lot of students he meets at Garfield State University, but he experienced a life-changing event almost a year earlier that completely altered his perception of both his peers and his existence. The trauma ended, but the burden of pain and fear follow him wherever he goes, making for an awkward, miserable experience. Connor avoids interpersonal contact whenever possible and hides his past, while one of his secrets in particular tears him apart from the inside.

In spite of his insistence that he be left alone, he is befriended at school by one person with a big heart who takes a special interest in breaking him out of his shell, but Connor refuses. Yet when his personal life begins to spiral out of control, he is thrust into the depths of his own psyche and disaster looks ready to strike again. Connor is forced to make many hard decisions to improve his status and open himself up to friendship. Unfortunately, one of those choices has the complete opposite of the intended effect and threatens to ruin his life.

A blend of sarcastic humor and drama, this young adult novel is a story of fear, sacrifice, and finding oneself.