Genres and Themes: Young Adult Fiction - mental illness, friendships, mystery
Doug Hansen and Andy Morrow are best friends although they couldn't be any more different from each other. Doug is shy and awkward. Andy has a great social life in school and is involved in many clubs and sports. What ties both of them together is a grave incident that happened in the past that they refuse to talk about. Doug uses a model train set to distract himself but it ends up becoming his obsession. His parents then realize he is not taking his medication and he is sent to a psychiatrist so that he can talk about the incident that is making him lose his sanity: the Tuttle incident. He then confesses that he and Andy burned that house down and that a death occurred because of it. Living in denial for so long and finally revealing the truth drives him to set his model train set on fire and causes harm to himself as well. The ending leaves the reader in shock and suspense to figure out what really happened.Awards Won by This Title:
2006 - Wisconsin Library Association Children's Book Award
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