Right Behind You by Gail Giles

Library Media Connection (January 2008)

Nine-year-old Kip has lost his mother to cancer, resents his father, and kills a seven year old by setting him on fire. Upon his release from a mental institution, his father, stepmother, and Kip move to another state. Kip changes his name to Wade. As he begins to gain acceptance from his classmates, he joins the swim team and soon becomes the best swimmer. After winning the state championship, Wade and his buddies celebrate with too many beers and too much pot. Wade blurts out his past transgression. He becomes a pariah, and the family moves again. The first day in the new place he meets Sam, who has secrets of her own. As they become closer, is it time to fess up or keep quiet? Kyle/Wade has finally learned that actions can have consequences for more than one person. This book looks at how life can change and how actions have consequences. This may be Gail Giles' best book to date and students will eagerly spread the word about it. It is a riveting look at how it's hard to forgive, forget, and live with what you do in your life. Highly Recommended. Harolyn Legg, District Media Specialist, Liberty-Benton High School, Findlay, Ohio.

Booklist (October 15, 2007 (Vol. 104, No. 4)

The most horrific moment comes at the beginning: distraught 10-year-old Kip kills another child by dousing him with gasoline and setting him afire. Traumatized, he’s sent to a mental ward for serious juvenile offenders (the Loon Platoon), where he’s encouraged to examine his feelings and memories. At 14, he reenters the world with a different identity, well aware that his fragile new self and the welfare of his family are built on a lie. Eventually, a girl with her own sad baggage walks into his life. Should he confess his past to her? A cheerleader stepmom and the convenience of finding a soulmate as troubled as he is are hard to swallow, but Kip’s halting endeavors to start over are both credible and carefully nuanced. Cynical and smart, Kip is also filled with self-reproach, and despite his crime, he’ll earn readers’ respect as he struggles to find out who he is and forge a path toward who he will eventually become. Giles’ fans won’t find outright thrills, but they’ll come away with a greater understanding of redemption and forgiveness.