Right Behind You

Giles, Gail. Right Behind You. Little, Brown Books for Young Readers (2007). ISBN 0316166367

Plot Summary

                Kip set another boy on fire when he was nine years old.  It was an accident but he still spends most of his childhood in a psychiatric ward, trying to understand why he did what he did.  After he has served his term, he, his father, and his stepmother move to a new town where no one knows how they are.  Kip even gets a new name – Wade.  Everything is going great until one drunken night, Wade spills everything.  From  there, he and his family are basically driven out of town in the most passive aggressive way possible.

                They decide to move to his stepmother’s beach house to try and start over again.  Wade realizes that even though he may want to keep being punished for what he did, his actions affect his family, so he vows to tell no one ever again.  Then he meets Sam.  Sam obviously has a past she doesn’t want to tell Wade about, but he knows better than anyone what it’s like to carry a secret.  Wade eventually does tell Sam, but will she be ok with the fact that he is a murderer?  Even if just by accident? 

Critical Evaluation

                Right Behind You is a powerful story about overcoming your past and trying to move on with life.  Wade obviously has one of the worst pasts one can imagine and it becomes almost impossible for him to get past it.  At times the reader may get frustrated with him for ruining his good life he had going, but it’s all psychological.  Wade has several sessions with different psychologists trying to work out what he’s thinking and feeling inside.  Wade struggles with forgiving himself for what he did all those years ago.  Even though he has been doing right by his parents since then, he still feels as if he hasn’t done enough to be forgiven for his crimes.

                This book is a really quick read – but one that packs a punch.  While what Wade did was terrible, the reader roots for him because we know why he did it.  It is heartbreaking to see everything fall apart and people’s reactions to the news before they even know anything about him.  It is chilling the lack of forgiveness shown by those living in both places when the events occurred.  It definitely brings up the question of what we, as human beings, are willing to forgive. 

Reader’s Annotation

Can the past ever really be put behind us?

Author’s Information

Gail Giles has moved around a lot, loves dogs and chocolate, and has written several books, including her most recent Right Behind You.  Gail Giles’ website, along with a lot more information about her and her books, can be found here: http://www.gailgiles.com/Welcome.html.

Genre

Suspense/Mystery

Book Talking Ideas

This is the story of a teenager, who, when he was a child, murdered another child.  It was on accident but what happens when people find out about it?  Can we ever really escape the past?  All of these questions and more are answered in this book. 

Reading Level/Interest

13/14

Challenge Issues

This is based on gruesome events – a child murdering another child.  Parents will probably take offense to that.  There is also some swearing, sexual content, and alcohol.  Because the story is about what happens to Wade because of his terrible actions, mostly bad things, that might be able to sway some challengers into dropping their complaint.

Why Include This Title?

Right Behind You is a story of forgiveness.  It is a story of coming to terms with horrible things that have happened in the past.  Being a teenager doesn’t mean you’re too young to have dealt with true hardship.  This book represents that fact, so it is included in this list.