Blood On His Hands By Willo Davis Roberts

Marc Solie is on the run. His family never recovers after the death of his younger sister from leukemia two years ago. After the divorce of his parents, his dad leaves him in the custody of his deeply depressed mother.

Since then Marc’s been running from himself — from the pain of loss and loneliness. He suddenly loses touch with his father, and before he knows it, he’s being sent to a disciplinary camp for at-risk teenagers. On a mandatory work outing, another teenage boy dies from dehydration after being tied by a staff of the camp and left under the hot sun for hours. When Marc discovers the dead boy, he is filled with anger. When the said staff approached him threatheningly, he thought he too will be punished. So he picks up a rock and attacks the staff who collapses with blood all over him . Fearful of the consequences of wht he has done,  Marc runs away.

He knows he has done something bad — maybe as bad as murder. His only chance is to get to his father who will know what to do and how to get him out of this mess.  Without food, water or money, Marc heads up the highway with his little dog towards Seattle where his father is.

Blood on His Hands is a good read about one boy’s journey to manhood. The short novel is heartbreaking but also uplifting despite its simple plot.