Killing isn't supposed to be easy. But it is. It's the after that's hard to deal with.
Nate was eight the first time he stabbed someone; he was eleven when he earned his red laces--a prize for spilling blood for "the cause." And he was fourteen when he murdered his father (and the leader of The Fort, a notorious white supremacist compound) in self-defense, landing in a treatment center while the state searched for his next of kin. Now, in the custody of an uncle he never knew existed, who wants nothing to do with him, Nate just wants to disappear.
Enrolled in a new school under a false name, so no one from The Fort can find him, he struggles to forge a new life, trying to learn how to navigate a world where people of different races interact without enmity. But he can't stop awful thoughts from popping into his head, or help the way he shivers with a desire to commit violence. He wants to be different--he just doesn't know where to start.
Then he meets Brandon, a person The Fort conditioned Nate to despise on sight. But Brandon's also the first person to treat him like a human instead of a monster. Brandon could never understand Nate's dark past, so Nate keeps quiet. And it works for a while. But all too soon, Nate's worlds crash together, and he must decide between his own survival and standing for what's right, even ifit isn't easy. Even if society will never be able to forgive him for his sins.
Like a teen American History X, S.F. Henson's Devils Within is gut-wrenching, thought-provoking, no-holds-barred look at the plague of white supremacy in contemporary American culture that may have you examining your own soul. A 2018 William C. Morris Award finalist.
"synopsis" may belong to another edition of this title.
From the Author:
S.F. Henson is an attorney living in Alabama with her husband, two cats, and a dog. Devils Within is her first novel.
From the Back Cover:
A DARKNESS CRAWLS THROUGH MY VEINS that I've been trying to figure out how to destroy since I arrived here. Before then really. It's always there. A low heat in my gut that has to be smothered before it morphs into a full-on geyser. That's when I hurt people.
Truth is, sometimes you have to hurt people to survive. Look weak and you might as well be dead. You'll sure wish you were.
I wasn't always this way. Or maybe I was. The beast prowls in my blood-his blood-restless, waiting for a reason to show itself.
Praise for Devils Within:
★"Henson's debut novel sheds a light on white supremacy and other cloaked forms of racism...A timely and informative read." -Kirkus Reviews, starred review.
"About this title" may belong to another edition of this title.
- PublisherSky Pony Press
- Publication date2017
- ISBN 10 1510714561
- ISBN 13 9781510714564
- BindingHardcover
- Number of pages408
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Rating