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by Elsey Sullivan (Author)
It's the summer of 1998, the last before high school, where bikes are chariots to freedom and every day feels carefree and endless.
When Ben and his best friend Adam discover an unopened whiskey barrel tucked away in the woods behind their neighborhood, they decide to turn it into an adventure, and a unique opportunity to impress Maggie and Taylor, the twin girls they secretly adore.
But deep in the woods, the trees remember another story: the vanishing of Tina Thornton. Shunned by the town, her troubled boyfriend still roams the trails. When the group crosses paths with him, their carefree discovery takes on a darker meaning; and the line between childhood curiosity and real danger begins to merge.
What began as adventure turns to unease when a second whiskey barrel is found, this time with more sinister things inside. Bike rides soon give way to eerie AIM messages leaving Ben and his friends to decide whether to keep chasing summer thrills or confront the truths of their secret discoveries.
This is a story about friendship, freedom and dial-up tones, of quiet terror and mystery, and the inevitable realization that summers don't always end the way we hoped.
