A mysterious boy walks the halls of Ridgewood High School. Everywhere he goes, the crows in town follow. Most people assume he's cursed, including Ashton, the school's premiere soccer star. Most people stay away from him at all costs.
But, when Ashton is dared to last one night in the haunted house at the edge of town, he finds more inside than he had bargained for. Elijah, the crow boy, lives within.
--
Elijah hates being home since the murder of his father. His mother has been near-catatonic for years and his little brothers are becoming too much to bear. What he can mend, he does, and what he can't, he worries about almost constantly.
His only solace is the outdoors, where hundreds of crows await his arrival every day. They're like his children, and at least they're grateful that he's there.
But when the most popular boy at school shows up at his front door one day, things change for Elijah in ways he never could have foreseen.
As Claire aims to leave her oppressive stepfamily behind, she befriends Zion. Will he be her ticket to freedom or a distraction in achieving her dreams?
*****
Claire Olsen has had a crush on Zion Petrakis since the first time she laid eyes on him, but he never noticed, instead only having eyes on the school's it girl, Maddie Jennings. Knowing she couldn't compete with Maddie, Claire hid her feelings for Zion, satisfied with admiring him from afar. However, when a series of events led Claire closer to Zion, her feelings for him grew from infatuation to love. And despite fighting hard to keep her feelings contained by distancing herself from Zion, he was determined to show her that he's earned a spot in her life.
[[word count: 100,000-150,000 words]]