It is never easy to lose someone who is close to you.

Imagine what it would be like to see your best friend die. You were just hanging out together, and you come across a gun in the shed. The two of you are looking at it, and it goes off. Now, your friend is dead ... and everyone blames you.

This is exactly what happens to Kyle, when his best friend Jason dies. Everyone seems to want to know what happened in the shed. The problem is that Kyle can't quite seem to remember. It's like his memory get stuck right at the moment the gun went off.

He is placed on probation and ends up in counseling, where he is convinced to try journaling in order to try and recover what happened. The hope is to allow him to remember so he can confront the demons that are haunting him. He takes on the task, but instead of journaling, he tries writing what happened in the form of movie script scenes in the style of his favorite directors. He is actually a major movie buff so it comes easily. Unfortunately, he can't seem to bring about the end of the scene no matter what style of presentation it takes.

As all of this is going on, Kyle ends up becoming closer to Jason's younger brother, who is facing bullies at school. Kyle decides to look after the little guy, but this turns out to not be as easy as you would think because Jason's parents want nothing to do with Kyle because they blame him for Jason's death.

Kyle also finds a friend in the school librarian. Most people see the guy as a scary man with a mysterious, mob-related past. Kyle gets a chance to see a different side of Mr. Cordoba.

I was quickly drawn into this one. Kyle's voice is so strong. It is easy to feel all of his emotions with him as he tries to confront the past. Most of the characters in the book are richly drawn, giving the reader a glimpse at their complex views as they all struggle to deal with the tragedy that has taken place.

Time is a major underlying theme throughout the whole book. Confronting and settling your debts to the past so you can move on and be ready for the future.

My only complaint is that for a while, the book becomes bogged down in the scenes written by Kyle, particularly as he starts to look back on his friendship with Jason before the shooting. It is worth sticking through it to reach the conclusion. I would dare anyone to read it without tears coming to their eyes.