by Andrew Smith
First published 2008
Troy Stotts writes notes to his father on a legal pad because they cannot speak to each other. His mother died before his seventeenth birthday. He spends his days with three friends who matter most to him. Tom Buller acts fearless but his father drinks too much. Gabe Benavidez knows the family ranch will never belong to him despite his intelligence. Luz Benavidez lives under her family's constant protection, and Troy has felt something for her since childhood. The four teenagers want their summer to stretch forever. They call this feeling "ghost medicine" when time stops moving forward. They hope to avoid both memory and future plans. Two strangers will shatter their quiet world. Rose lives alone with wild horses and goats, carrying damage from her past. Chase Rutledge believes his sheriff father's power extends to him. Troy and his friends wish they could vanish completely. The summer will transform them in ways they never imagined.
Genres: fiction, coming-of-age, contemporary, family-drama
Vibes: atmospheric, emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: found-family, slice-of-life
Setting: Ranch
Period: Summer
368 pages · Hardcover · Feiwel & Friends
Content warnings: mental-illness