The Weight
of a Second

Twelve-year-old Luke Daniels knows how to hide a bruise. His best friend, Cory Rupert, knows how to make him laugh.

Up in the Kentucky mountains, Luke and Cory can make an adventure out of almost anything—and disagree about whose idea it was afterward. They know the trails, each other’s bad ideas, and exactly how to get under each other’s skin. Those are the afternoons Luke wishes would last a little longer, before the laughter fades and it is time to go home.

Yet the hills hold things Luke cannot explain. A glimpse of an unfamiliar boy on the river rocks leaves him with a question even Cory cannot answer. The mountain he knows so well is beginning to feel different.

Then escaped prisoners take his stepfather hostage. Frank is the man Luke fears most—and someone he wants brought home alive. As floodwater rises and roads close, Luke finds himself helping others seek the safety he has struggled to find. But reaching out to one frightened child will put him directly in danger.

Set in Appalachia in 1994, The Weight of a Second is a story of fierce friendship, stubborn humor, and a boy learning whom he can trust when finding his way home means more than following a familiar trail.

A note for readers

Includes child abuse, violence and threats involving children, grief, and occasional strong language.