In a single night—graduation night—Thomas has to decide: do what everyone has always expected of him, or forge an entirely new path? Bryan Bliss’s absorbing examination of one boy struggling with expectations and realities will appeal to readers of Sara Zarr and Chris Crutcher.

Thomas is supposed to leave for the Army in the morning. His father was Army. His brother, Jake, is Army—is a hero, even, with the medals to prove it. Everyone expects Thomas to follow in that fine tradition. But Jake came back from overseas a completely different person, and that has shaken Thomas’s certainty about his own future. And so when his long-estranged friend Mallory suggests one last night of adventure, Thomas takes her up on the distraction. Over the course of this single night, Thomas will lose, find, resolve, doubt, drive, explore, and leap off a bridge. He’ll also face the truth of his brother’s post-traumatic stress disorder and of his own courage. In Bryan Bliss’s deft hands, graduation night becomes a night to find yourself, to find each other, to find a path, and to know that you always have a place—and people—to come back to.

One night stands between Thomas and a future he’s no longer sure he wants—and one last adventure might be his only chance to find the truth.

• Difficult Decisions: By sunrise, Thomas is supposed to ship out for the Army. But after seeing how the war changed his brother, he’s questioning the only future he’s ever known.
• Second Chance Friendship: He hasn’t spoken to Mallory in years, but when she suggests an adventure, Thomas can’t say no. It might be his last chance to figure things out.
• Brotherhood and Family Conflict: Thomas’s father expects him to follow in his war-hero brother’s footsteps. But Jake is a shadow of his former self, and the truth of what happened to him is a secret the family won’t face.
• PTSD in Families: A raw and honest look at the invisible wounds of war and the impact of a soldier’s post-traumatic stress on the people who love him most.