Great Falls

I would not be able to hand this book to my thirteen-year-old son, as much as I would like to, in part because of the language. But I believe that high school aged kids would be fine with the content; it's no worse than what they hear on the bus. The book also had a few scenes that made me cringe, but again, not because they were inappropriate or unrealistic, so I don't mean that a a negative. I just mean that this is probably not an appropriate read for a middle grade audience in case someone was deliberating whether to buy for younger readers. Lastly, I believe the affected character behaved very much like many other young veterans based on my own experience. I feel the author was fair and honest in his portrayal of not only the veteran but of his family members and spouse. Well done, Steve Watkins, and thank you for giving us a book that a certain audience needed.

Shane knows he's living atop a powder keg, both literally and figuratively. His step dad acts like he's running a marine corps division, even though he never really saw combat and is retired. His mother is intimidated by her husband, but does try to keep peace after he explodes. The real ticking bomb, however, lives in the basement. That's where Shane's older brother, Jeremy hides from the world and his demons.
Jeremy served three tours in Iraq and Afghanistan and now can't deal with peacetime back home. The invisible scars inside him fester, preventing him from sleeping, finishing out his tour at Quantico , or living with his wife Annie and their two infant daughters.
Shane feels adrift himself, not sure how to deal with Jeremy, angry at his stepfather and becoming detached from his teammates on the high school football team. He's ambivalent about his feelings for Annie, even though helping her and offering a supportive ear make him feel better.
That feeling of being adrift takes on a whole new meaning when Jeremy coerces him into skipping school and taking an impromptu canoe trip down the Shenandoah and Potomac Rivers. What transpires between the brothers and how the trip ends up make for a very well done and gripping read. It reminded me of Laurie Halse Anderson's The Impossible Knife of Memory in terms of getting readers to understand the scope and severity of war induced guilt, dreams and PTSD.
While there is violence and strong language in the story, both are integral parts of it and shouldn't deter libraries from adding a copy to their collection. This is an excellent and gut-hitting story.