Justifier

A YA coming of age psych-thriller set in an apocalyptic South Island.

"The truth was black and blue, and it all came down to the boy with the gun."

Summer, 1983: Two young boys in a forest promised to embrace stereotypical masculinity. One returned from the forest. Alone. Years later, that boy aimed a rifle at someone he believed should die. He didn't pull the trigger.

Winter, 1992: Everyone at school speculates that seventeen-year-old orphan Charlie Whittaker conceals a dark secret beneath his lanky physique. Supernaturally, he and an enigmatic child named Abe become the only people in the world overnight. While Charlie's memory of recent events is lost, Abe claims to know everything, including a spontaneous journey Charlie took with a girl named Penny.

Seeking answers, the unlikely duo embark on the same route that will expose cold truths amidst surfacing memories: a cryptic lullaby; cruel torment from bullies; an obsession for vengeance; and faces that haunt their pasts. As the truth reveals itself to be jarring, Charlie and Abe are forced to question if they're beyond redemption from their own worst selves.

Reader Warning: Contains themes of violence and childhood trauma.