A raw and emotionally layered novel that blends psychological realism with speculative mystery.
A troubled teen searches for his missing brother while grappling with guilt, grief, and the possibility of the impossible in Bowler’s compelling YA novel. Fourteen-year-old Colton Bowman has always had a temper, especially when kids mocked his older brother, Austin, who has never spoken, hates being touched, and draws rainbows with photo-realistic precision. Diagnosed with “autism-like” traits but never officially labeled, Austin is deeply attuned to the world in ways others can’t understand. When Austin disappears one afternoon after Colton screams that he hates him, Colton is left to confront not only his guilt but the suspicion of his peers, the silence of his devastated mother, and the judgment of adults who’ve written him off as “Psycho Boy.”
Told in Colton’s first-person voice, the novel captures the raw, unfiltered intensity of a teen unraveling and rebuilding in real time. The dialogue rings true, and Colton’s narration veers from rage to regret to reluctant wonder as he begins to piece together a strange pattern: other nonverbal kids around the world have gone missing under similar circumstances. Bowler layers the narrative with symbolic motifs (mirrors, rainbows, reversed drawings), hinting that Austin may inhabit a space that defies explanation. Speculative elements (like alien abduction or mythical rain spirits) are floated but never confirmed, which strengthens the book’s emotional core: it’s not about where Austin is, but about how we cope with not knowing.
This is a deeply humane, speculative mystery that pulses with empathy and aching truth.
Pub date June 10, 2025
ASIN B0DYZ9FSGV
Price $4.99 Kindle edition
