Target

Why had the men chosen him? What had they seen about him that said, I’m your target? Savagely violated by two strangers, 16-year-old Grady West retreats into a deep silence. Everything about the life he knew fades away. He switches to a new school and stops calling his old friends. He can’t talk to his family. As fear and doubt and memories of his horrible experience take over his head, Grady can’t even eat. But there are those around him who can see beyond his silence and want to know who he really is. As Grady struggles to climb out of the pain and recover from his trauma, he begins to connect with people who show him that life is still worth living. Why had the men chosen him? Savagely violated by two strangers, sixteen-year-old Grady West retreats into silence. Some hells just can't be shared. Searing and powerful, Target shows that people can go through unspeakable things and emerge whole-- and sometimes your friends can save you. Another "provocative tale" ( Booklist ) by Kathleen Jeffrie Johnson, author of The Parallel Universe of Liars . ---------- While walking home from school after a concert, 16 year old Grady West is abducted, beaten and repeatedly raped by two men. Grady is let go and now has to deal with the trauma of his rape. His parents enroll him into a new school where two kids are determined to get through to Grady because has distanced himself from everyone. After being brutally raped, Grady finally goes to a new high school where he meets an outgoing African American and several other students who try to help him deal with the horrible secret that is robbing him of his life. After being brutally raped, sixteen-year-old Grady West goes to a new high school where he meets several other students who try to help him deal with the horrible secret that is robbing him of his life