Lost in the Sun by Lisa Graff (review)

Until Trent accidentally hit a hockey puck into his friend Jared’s chest that resulted in Jared’s death from an undiagnosed heart defect, he was an athletic, happy guy who lived for pulling pranks with his brothers. Between his dad’s blockheaded reaction, the ostracism of his former friends, and his own guilt, though, he’s become an angry boy who alienates anyone who might help. On the advice of his school counselor, he draws his thoughts in a journal, but the practice isn’t helping; if anything, the scenarios he draws of all the ways Jared might have nearly died but instead was saved by Trent are keeping his obsessions alive. When a girl named Fallon rescues him from some bullies, he tries to reject her friendship, but since she’s the only one who’ll talk to him, he ends up accepting her company. Fallon is haunted by her own demons; her face is marked by a wicked-looking scar, and she makes up stories about how she got it, never revealing the truth. As their friendship develops, Trent eventually triggers Fallon’s traumatic memories by beating up another kid. This catalyzes his road to recovery, however, as he works to find creative ways to make amends. Characterization is thoughtful: Graff is highly sensitive to a sixth-grade boy’s limited emotional savvy and lack of tools to deal with this kind of pain, and Fallon is believably sympathetic in her love of baseball movies and her understanding of the loneliness of trauma. With the exception of Trent’s father, each of the secondary characters is wise enough to know that Trent has to work this out on his own; their support is subtle and credible, as work it out he does.