Thursday, May 11, 2017

Thursday Throwback: When He Fell

When He Fell is my second book for Carina; the first was This Fragile Life, and they are both very emotional, high-concept reads. The idea for this book came when I read an article about two sixteen-year-old boys and best friends who were messing around on the school yard, and one threw a cricket ball at the other. It hit him in the head and he was instantly killed.

Of course, our sympathy goes instantly with the boy who was killed and his family. What a terrible tragedy, so immediate and pointless. But then I started thinking about the other boy. How would it have affected him? What would he be feeling? And I changed the ages and motivations of the boys, adding layers of secrets between the families, and this book emerged--the story of what happens when one boy pushes another and he falls and becomes brain damaged as a result.

This book is a bit darker than This Fragile Life, because it's about responsibility and forgiveness, and how we all can have a small part to play in a tragedy. But it has hope too--I couldn't write a book without a hopeful ending!

You can buy the book here.

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