Freefall

Freefall, by Ariela Anhalt was a very good young adult novel.  Luke and Hayden are best friends at a private high school.  During an initiation rite that involves jumping off a cliff, the new kid, Russell is pushed/falls off the cliff and dies.  That's the question -- did he fall or was he pushed.

The turmoil that Luke goes through during the rest of the book is painful to read.  He can't talk to anyone, he loses all of his friends, and just really becomes a totally different person.  I thought this was very realistically portrayed, and I felt his pain in my gut.

I think young adult readers will like this book, and it should provide some excellent moral quandaries for discussion.