Runaway (Paperback) by Peter Alpert

Like many teenagers, Jim Carson doesn't get along with his parents, feels neglected at home, and finds it hard to connect with classmates and teachers at school. Devising a half-baked plan, he flees his Florida home in the middle of the night for what he hopes will be a new start on the West Coast. What he encounters along the way is life changing, but not in the way he had hoped. Based on a true story, Runaway: A Tragedy of Youth takes an unflinching view of what can happen when impulse overcomes prudence, when a split-second decision can pull a life off its rails.