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Blount’s first novel is a morality play about releasing the past and seizing the present. Five years ago, Dan was sentenced to almost a year in juvenile detention for his role in the suicide of his former friend Liam. Now at age 18, Dan and his family have assumed new identities and moved several times, hiding from Liam’s violent father, but Dan can’t escape the weight of guilt or “Kenny,” the antagonistic voice in his head (Kenny is Dan’s birth name). On his first day of school in yet another new town, Dan stops a jock, Jeff, from beating up an outcast kid named Brandon; he makes an enemy and a friend in the process, while developing a complicated crush on a classmate, Julie, who, interestingly enough, has the same last name as Liam. For someone seeking redemption and a second chance, Dan is surprisingly judgmental, especially toward Julie, boosting the story’s tension as they spar. Though the plot is overly dependent on coincidence, the ethical debates raised will engage readers. Ages 13–up. Agent: Evan Gregory, Ethan Ellenberg Literary Agency. (Aug.)