Paul Fleischman's Whirligig is an excellent novel (can't figure out if I read this and never posted it,or what, so here it is.)

Fleischman, Paul (1998) Whirligig.  New York: Macmillan

 

My friend Kim has recently returned to the joy of reading.  This one is especially for her.  So there is this 17 year old kid named Brent who has just moved to this new school.  He is nervous and insecure and trying to fit in, so when he gets invited to a party by his new friend and he hears the girl he has his eye on will be there, he is excited about going.  Unfortunately, one thing after another goes bad, culminating with public humiliation and soon Brent finds himself drunk, driving home, and the next thing he knows he is responsible for losing control and killing a girl his age who he never knew.

Brent’s parents and their lawyer want to get him out of it, but Brent wants to do something – even though he knows he can never make it right.  Eventually, the girl’s Mom agrees to meet with him and sets before him a remarkable task.  The rest of the story is told in a series of connected but separate stories – some of which only feature Brent peripherally – but it is an amazing and powerful story about redemption and grace.

I loved this book. Good for middle school and up.  It would be especially ggod as a book to use with a creative writing class.