Aesop Lake [Paperback]

One warm May night at the town reservoir, seventeen-year-old Leda Keogh sees her boyfriend do something awful. She wants to forget it ever happened, but David needs her to be his alibiand is willing to destroy her family if she refuses. Trapped, Leda must choose between the truth, her boyfriend, and her family.

Jonathan Tanner-Eales feels like an outsider. Hes gay, and life in rural Vermont hasnt been as idyllic as he hoped it would be. When Jonathan and his boyfriend, Ricky, are attacked during a night swim, Jonathan manages to escape, but must watch, helpless, as Ricky is beaten. Jonathan, plagued by trauma and fear, wrestles with anger and shame in the aftermath of the crime.

That summer Leda and Jonathan are swept together by chance, and both must reckon with fundamental questions of loyalty and courage. What does it mean to speak the truth when a lie protects the ones you love? Will Leda put the fate of her family and her boyfriend first, or can Jonathan persuade her to tell the truth?

Seventeen-year-old Leda Keogh was present when her boyfriend, David committed a hate crime against a gay couple. When David threatens to turn in Ledas mother to the police for drug dealing if she wont be his alibi, Leda must choose between doing the right thing, her boyfriend and her family. She tries to escape the situation by taking a job as a nanny on Aesop Lake, only to come face to face with Jonathan, one of the victims of the hate crime. Will Leda put the fate of her family and boyfriend first, or can Jonathan persuade Leda to tell the truth?