Chase is lucky. He is the sole survivor of a fiery crash that killed his classmates, an accident he does not remember and, after attempted suicides and intensive therapy, only re-visits as flashes and fragments. Johnston creates a somewhat a convoluted whole from elements woven into Chase's story: Chase's father's ministry, his brother's jail term, and a crucifix Chase is terrified of breaking. While technically the story may overplay sensational elements, teen readers will identify with Chase, his high-school frustrations, his loneliness without his brother, and the pressure of not only being the good child but the preacher's kid. What may capture readers most is the psychological mystery, in which Johnston demonstrates the lengths to which the brain will go to protect itself. What really did happen that night everyone else in the car was killed? This novel will keep teens reading to the very last page.

High school junior Chase Farrell has attempted suicide twice, holds regular counsel with a psychiatrist, and has only tattered memories of the horrible automobile accident from which he walked away but in which four friends died. He bears the yoke of survivor's guilt because Angie, his ex-girlfriend, was the driver. A gifted actor, Chase cannot bring himself to reconnect with the school's drama productions, and the troubled teen withdraws from his family. His minister father seems more concerned with his congregation than Chase's mental state. A cluttered story line clouds the intriguing premise, perhaps purposely to mirror Chase's anguish. Johnston sketches out a situation where the main character and readers both progressively connect the dots to figure out what happened just before the automobiles collided. Consider these many subplots: Chase is bullied by macho wrestlers demanding to know why his ex-girlfriend was enlisted to drive the drunken teens home even though Angie had begun dating one of their teammates. Chase wants desperately to reconnect with Ben, his older brother, who has been recently released from a detention center. Darla, a new girl with a nasty sexual past, befriends the emotionally crippled teen but passes on taking the relationship further. Additional distractions arise when the author enthusiastically but unnecessarily inserts details of character roles from well-known stage performances. Nevertheless Johnston hits his stride, and teens who stick with this title will be rewarded with a gripping finish when Chase discovers the awful truth behind his repressed memories.-Rollie Welch.