The Second Trial

Gr 5—9—Thirteen-year-old Danny sits sullenly in a Canadian courtroom as the details of his father's trial unfold. Readers learn how the man has brutalized his wife for years. Danny doesn't believe it; his father has always been great with him. His mother's lawyer warns that her life is in danger, and after his father gets a light sentence, they are barreling toward some sort of victim-protection program. Suddenly he is packing and saying good-bye to his grandparents forever. His younger sister and his mother try to tell him that they were telling the truth, and that this is the only way. But Danny has plans of his own. He'll wait until Christmas, and then he'll call his dad and things can get back to normal. When they get to their new home with their new identities, the boy's attitude gets steadily worse as he falls in with the wrong crowd and starts shoplifting, ditching school, and smoking. This story is beautifully told, and readers will be pulled along with Danny as he slowly comes to face reality and his own demons. With most of the graphic violence offstage, this story is sensitive enough for younger readers to handle, yet the characters seem so real.—Jake Pettit, Thompson Valley High School, Loveland, CO