ABOUT THIS BOOK

It begins with a free and joyful act--but from then on, Michael finds it impossible even to remember what it felt like to be free and joyful.  When he fires his new rifle into the air on his seventeenth birthday, he never imagines that the bullet will end up killing someone.  But a mile away, a man is killed by that bullet as he innocently repairs his roof.  And Michael keeps desperately silent while he watches his world crumble.

Meanwhile Jenna, the dead man's daughter, copes with desperation of her own.  Through her grief, she tries to understand why she no longer feels comfortable with her boyfriend and why a near stranger named Michael keeps appearing in her dreams.

Suspenseful and powerfully moving, this is the unforgettable story of an accidental crime and its haunting web of repercussions.


AWARDS

WINNER 1999 - Texas TAYSHAS High School Reading List
WINNER 1998 - ALA Best Books for Young Adults
NOMINEE 2001 - Arizona Young Readers Award
WINNER 1999 - Texas Lone Star Reading List
WINNER 1998 - Maine Student Book Master List
NOMINEE 1999 - Maryland Black-Eyed Susan Award



RELATED LINKS

Click Here for the Swallowing Stones BookTalk
Click here for the author's website