Turtle back book rebound by Covercraft [Scholastic] for the classroom trade: they by text blocks from the mass market paperback publisher and case them in hardcovers with the same covers, and sell to school systems for use in reading classrooms. Tight, flat, square, sharp book. Pages toned. Head dent. A bit of surface soiling to the boards which can be addressed with an alcohol wipe without damaging the covers.

Nominee: VT Golden Dome Book Award Nominee 1994; School Library Journal Best Book; California Young  Readers Nominee, Margaret Edwards Award.

How well do we know our best friends?

They were the best of friends. Sixteen-year-old Buck Mendenhall first met Kate Lucas the summer before seventh grade. In eighth grade they made friends with the brilliant and wealthy newcomer, Trav Kirby. They didn't seem to need anyone else. Mostly they looked forward to the good times shared at Kate's house. It didn't matter if their classmates wondered about them; no one could unravel their binding ties.

At least that's what they thought. When one of the trio finds the future too great a threat, the other two can only wonder: "How well did we know our best friend?"

"With humanity, wit, and a quiet intensity, Peck's novel depicts suicide as a turning point inward of the pressures in an alienated and violent society."