Gail W. (G-Rated) reviewed on 11/20/2005 + 313 more book reviews

Danny is handsome, athletic, and smart. Nearly everyone likes and respects him. Suddenly, his entire world shatters when a girl with whom he has been friends since childhood, and to whom he gave a ride home, accuses him of a vicious assault and rape. She has the contusions and body-fluids test to implicate him. Danny arrived home late that night, covered in mud, seemingly distracted. He finally admits to consensual sex, but denies any physical abuse. Readers follow the effects of this charge on his family as the criminal justice system slowly grinds the teen through its plodding routine. His mother's counseling practice declines dramatically. His father reacts strongly as the whole episode reminds him of things long hidden in his own past. The family's unraveling accelerates as Danny's younger brother and sister struggle to understand what is happening. Even his parents' once-strong marriage teeters on the edge of collapse. Investigating the crime, and providing a counterpoint to the family's shaky assumption that Danny has to be innocent, is Detective Tucci. He dislikes Danny's father intensely and believes, in "like father, like son" fashion, that the boy must be guilty. The story provides lots of interesting detail as readers follow each character's thoughts and reasoning.

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