It opens en media res, after the death of Buck and the suicide attempt of his younger brother, Conrad, have already occurred. ... Conrad feels as if he should have been the person to die in the boating accident that took his brother's life. ... Calvin and Conrad continually blame themselves for all that goes wrong in life and cannot open up about the death of their brother or son until the very end of the novel. ...

• Word Count: 2059
• Approx Pages: 8
• Grade Level: High School