Every Last Promise

Gr 9 Up—Unlike her three best friends—Jen, Bean, and Selena—high school junior Kayla wants to remain in their small town of Winbrook, MO, forever. When Kayla causes a car wreck after a party that kills a classmate and injures Jen's twin and high school football star, Jay, Kayla spends her summer with her aunt in Kansas City. Upon her return, she is a temporary outcast and the foursome becomes a threesome with Bean forging new friendships. Though Kayla pretends not to remember what happened the night of the accident, she does. She remembers wanting to crash the car and the reasons why. Told in alternating chapters between the spring before and the fall after the accident, Halbrook slowly reveals the truth of what happened that night. The author explores the effects a "boys will be boys" mentality can have on a town, and how personal safety and comfort are often valued more than a friend's justice. Though readers may be conflicted over Kayla's decisions and priorities, most will connect with her strong characterizaton and feel her come alive on the page with genuine turmoil.