The Mangrove River

Rae and Lena are both high school seniors in a small town in Florida where days are more boring than they are hot; where secrets can be swept away in a spring river, and where beauty can be found in unexpected places.

Rae is an antisocial and unremarkable girl who has been living with her father in a trailer park for two years in order to escape her mother's ever-growing drug and alcohol abuse as well as an unfortunate incident that left her at the center of torment in her previous high school.

Lena seems like a shining beacon of high school perfection: star football player boyfriend, popular by association, involved, and gifted; however, her constant battle for perfection at home and at school has left her desperate for something to make her life meaningful.

Rae is immediately gripped by her attraction to Lena and the briefest encounter between them sparks a fire that will burn through everything they knew about themselves and force them to establish their place in the world. Rae sets out with an innocent determination to befriend Lena, and in the months that follow, they are taken on a journey that spans the breadth of friendship and love.