Title: If You Wrong Us
Author: Dawn Klehr
Publisher: Flux
Release Date: October 8, 2015
Length: 240 Pages
ISBN: 9780738745992
Becca and Johnny become entangled after a car crash steals
the lives of two people they love. Officially, the crash is an accident. But
Becca and Johnny are convinced: someone did this.
As they plot revenge against the person responsible, a
bond—intense, unyielding, and manic—takes hold of them. And in an unexpected
turn of events, they fall for each other.
Or so they think.
In an upside-down world where decay is beautiful and love
and hate become one, Becca and Johnny find themselves grappling with reality.
Nothing is exactly what it seems, including what they've come to believe about
the crash. Question is: will they learn the truth before it's too late?
No. The question is: when they learn the truth, will they
care?
Excerpt:
I left the room first. I couldn’t stand to be in there any
longer. The florescent lights; the stale ammonia scent; the look on my parents’
faces.
Down the hall and around the corner, the special waiting
room was empty and the refrigerator was full of juice boxes. They’d become a
comfort for me in here—something sweet to coat all the bitterness rotting my
insides. I closed my eyes and tried to block out everything. I tried to forget,
until light footsteps caught my attention. I kept my eyes closed because I
didn’t want anyone to bother me.
Please,
please just go away.
“Becca?” a small soft voice called out. It was a voice in
between—deep and crackling, yet still high enough to sound feminine.
Ethan Kent.
He walked over to me carrying a bouquet of daisies. It was
like a scene out of a Disney movie: a just-pubescent boy with short sandy hair
and proper manners making a kind gesture to set everything right.
“I brought these for your sister,” he said.
He handed the flowers to me; I didn’t take them. They were
bundled together in that cheap plastic wrap, devoid of all smell. They reminded
me of Travis. Appealing on the outside, but nothing of value on the inside.
“I’ll just set them here,” he said, putting them on the seat
next to mine.
“Is this some kind of joke?” I asked him. “Did your perverse
brother put you up to this?”
Ethan didn’t need to answer. I knew Travis had sent him here
to show me he was in control, that he could do whatever he wanted. But this
time, he’d messed with the wrong person. I’d been under my sister’s thumb for
as long as I could remember, and I wasn’t about to be controlled again. Never
again.
That day, a fire ignited in me. Heat that had been there
under the surface, waiting. This move by Travis was the match that set it
ablaze.
“What do you mean?” he asked, taking a step backward.
“She’s dead. She’s dead! ” I jabbed his chest with my
finger.
“I’m sorry,” he said. “We didn’t know. Travis didn’t think
you’d see him, so he sent me.
He’s worried about you.”
“He should be worried about me.” I stood up, physically
unable to be still. “He should be very worried.” Ethan’s face twisted into
something less Disney and more Stephen King. He trembled as his eyes cast down.
“Don’t say that,” he said.
I smiled. Ethan was scared of me. I stood a little taller,
taking up more space in the room. He took another step back. I put on this new
role like a welcome down jacket in a frigid Detroit winter. It was warmth and
safety. I was finally the person on the offense rather than defense. I was in
control and it was a heady feeling. One I’d eventually become hooked on.
Dawn Klehr is the author of the young adult thrillers: The
Cutting Room Floor and If You Wrong Us.
She began her career in TV news and though she’s been on
both sides of the camera, she prefers to lurk behind the lens. Mostly, she
loves to get lost in stories – in film, the theater, or on the page – and is a
sucker for both the sinister and the sappy. She’s currently channeling her dark
side as she works on her next book.
Dawn lives in the Twin Cities with her funny husband,
adorable son, and naughty dog. You can find her at: www.dawnklehrbooks.com,
@dawnklehr, or www.facebook.com/dawnklehrauthor.
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