What Lane? by Torrey Maldonado
Stephen has some good friends, but lately, his best friend Dan, has been hanging out with his cousin, Chad. Chad, for lack of a better word, is pretty much a jerk and seems to be mean on purpose to Stephen. Any time Chad is around, Stephen just wants to leave. So when a bunch of Stephen's friends hang out one day, and Chad starts to challenge Stephen to do something he isn't comfortable doing, Stephen wonders if his friendship with Dan will survive since his parents always say people will pick family over friends.
As the days go on, Stephen begins to see that not only can Chad be a jerk at times, but he can also encourage the kids in the group to do things that begin to become dangerous. And Stephen is starting to see things in the world that he never thought about before, things that his dad thinks he should be prepared for, but his mom thinks he's too young to know about. How is Stephen supposed to get his friend Dan to understand the attitudes that his cousin Chad shares are hurtful and not right?
Recommended for grades 6 and and up.
