These links show the original reading lists. Inclusion is not a guarantee of suitability for your child.
William Hussey - Author
A dark, emotionally charged YA mystery about first love, bereavement and unanswered questions. Its alternating timelines gradually reveal what happened, while Dylan’s investigation tests his understanding of Ellis and the people around him.
Dylan is forced to come out after an intimate video of him and Ellis is published online.Exploratory / explanatoryExploratory / explanatory: the book explains or explores the subject without an established evaluative position.Exploratory / explanatory: the book explains or explores the subject without an established evaluative position.
How the book presents it: The story places LGBTQ+ identity, coming out and the social effects of exposure at its centre, while showing Dylan’s relationship with Ellis as emotionally significant.
Talk about: How does Dylan experience the difference between private self-understanding and other people’s reactions?
Grief, memory and truth
After Ellis dies, Dylan investigates the accident and questions his own recollections, receiving clues while discovering that he may not have known Ellis as well as he believed.Exploratory / explanatoryExploratory / explanatory: the book explains or explores the subject without an established evaluative position.Exploratory / explanatory: the book explains or explores the subject without an established evaluative position.
How the book presents it: The mystery uses grief and uncertainty to examine how Dylan reconstructs events and revises his understanding of someone he loved.
Talk about: If Dylan’s memories conflict with other accounts, what should count as reliable evidence?
Friendship during difficulty
Mike supports Dylan after the accident while undergoing cancer treatment and managing the effects of illness on his own life and family.Exploratory / explanatoryExploratory / explanatory: the book explains or explores the subject without an established evaluative position.Exploratory / explanatory: the book explains or explores the subject without an established evaluative position.
How the book presents it: The book presents this mainly as information or explanation.
Talk about: What does Mike offer Dylan that Dylan cannot find through his investigation alone?
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Why It May Be Worth Reading
It offers opportunities to discuss how love, trust and grief can coexist with uncertainty. Dylan’s friendship with Mike also provides a contrasting picture of support while both characters face serious personal difficulties.
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What Deserves Attention
Content deserving preparation includes a fatal accident and drowning, grief and loss, drug use, cancer, physical and mental abuse, rape references, and sexual references.
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A Conversation Worth Having
How might the story distinguish between grief, memory and evidence? You could also ask whether Dylan’s search changes his understanding of Ellis, and what makes Mike’s friendship helpful or difficult.
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Reading Approach
Consider reading alongside the young person rather than rushing through the mystery. Pause after difficult sections to discuss reactions, and agree beforehand that they can stop or postpone the book if its darker subjects feel too immediate.
Confidence & Basis
Theme indicators describe how the book presents a topic; they are not a verdict on the whole book or your family's values. Confidence reflects how much book-specific material was checked. Only part of the book information was available, so some details remain unconfirmed.
What remains unconfirmed
Coming out and LGBTQ+ identity: Some details of this treatment remain unclear.
Grief, memory and truth: Some details of this treatment remain unclear.
Friendship during difficulty: Some details of this treatment remain unclear.
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