Publisher's Synopsis
For lovers of Catcher in the Rye, Lord of the Flies, and anyone else who enjoys a marvelous read, the most rare and precious thing, a brand-new classic, totally engrossing. This is a big, sprawling novel that tells the largely untold story of the American origins of the Holocaust and gives a new perspective on what happened in the US and Germany. Utterly contemporary in its themes-causes of discrimination, white entitlement, child abuse, family dysfunction. You'll laugh, you'll cry, you won't put it down as Justin follows his secrets to an unforgettable conclusion.
Justin's life is being destroyed by secrets. His fight for survival is a battle cry for everyone faced with injustice. Justin's father has expelled him to a repressive New England school, all contact with the family denied, the result of one of many secrets of his dysfunctional family. More secrets at school when two men of historic significance enter his life, both architects of the Holocaust. One dies. Is it murder? At school he is the subject of brutal bullying reminiscent of the deadly attacks on Piggy in Lord of the Flies. Why him? Another secret. The school is riddled with secrets. Death beckons on many levels, and there are ever more secrets. The magical love of a remarkable girl brings hope. And the story wraps itself in ribald humor and outrageous schoolboy shenanigans like Catcher in the Rye. Ultimately Justin discovers that to find the murder he must first find himself. Those finding murder become targets. The book is a salute to perseverance against unbelievable odds and a lesson that the loving heart can win against anything. Spellbinding, human, full of knowledge, this is a book you will long remember.
