Finding the Before

Cash is a survivor...well, he's trying. But as he enters seventh grade at Spring Cove Middle, he realizes life in the Tin Can-his mobile home-is more than he can handle alone. Emptiness fills the Tin Can-empty fridge, empty cupboards, empty frames, and a bunch of empty beer cans. Dad is there, passed out, rocking tighty-whities on the sweat-stained couch.

Cash would give anything to have a life like The Before, when he didn't have to be a survivor. He remembers beach vacations, birthday parties, and Phillies games-all chronicled in family photos. But that was before The Moment, eight years ago, when a crash changed everything.

If Cash can't find out exactly what happened on Spring Mill Road eight years earlier, keep the Tin Can a secret from the authorities, and come to terms with his pain, he'll be forced to face an unknown future alone.