Finally, Levi Katznelson's older brother, Boaz, has returned. Boaz was a high school star who had it all and gave it up to serve in a war Levi can't understand. But when Boaz walks through the front door, he knows there's something wrong. Boaz is home, safe. But Levi knows his brother is not the same.

Following a life-changing year, in which her dad gets a divorce from her beloved stepmother and she loses her stepsister in the process, Harper decides to escape by joining a volunteer program to build a house for a family in Tennessee who lost their home in a tornado --- even though she knows nothing about construction.

Anna, Emma and Mariah make up a story about why they're late getting home one night --- a story that will replace their parents' anger with concern. They just have to stand by it, no matter what. Suddenly the police are involved, and the town demands that someone be punished. And then there is the man who is arrested and accused of a crime that never happened.

In this promising first novel by Dana Reinhardt, Simone's typical teen concerns are put in perspective when her birth mother contacts her, seemingly out of the blue. Simone discovers love, heartbreak, and a family history she never could have imagined.