What makes a "good" boy good? Is it how they act around their parents, their friends, or how they regard themselves?
Timothy Judson is a very good boy. He gets good grades, he's well-liked and handsome, and he seems to come from the perfect family. Timothy has everything he could want and more - besides the closeness of his family, particularly a better relationship with his father.
In searching for a father figure, he develops a soon-to-be toxic relationship with a peer who deals drugs. Timothy's short stint into drugs ends when he falls for Mary - but the friendship persists and places Timothy in a terrible spot that lands someone in a grave.
No longer a "good boy" by anyone's standards, Timothy wallows in the depths of his despair. However, an important figure in his life provides one final lifeline: a pastor who may just be able to show Timothy the way to salvation and redemption.
A Very Good Boy? blurs the lines of genre fiction, combining crime, drugs, suspense, and murder with elements of family life, young love, and religion. Readers will become emotionally invested in Timothy's struggle through the close, confiding narrative and in-depth emotional scenes.
This book makes a great addition to teens' reading shelves - but it's also a good purchase for parents, grandparents, teachers, and pastors to use as an example of choices and their consequences.