Ilsa J. Bick's THE SIN-EATER'S CONFESSION Explores Harsh Realities of Gay Teens in America

In THE SIN-EATER'S CONFESSION, written by Ilsa J. Bick and published by Carolrhoda Lab, an imprint of Lerner Publishing Group, young adult readers are introduced to Ben, a good kid whose single moments of inattention and cowardice turn his life upside down and places the guilt of a whole community on his shoulders.

Ben is a normal 17-year-old balancing school with volunteer work and applying for college. For reasons he can never quite articulate, he befriends Jimmy Egan, a boy two years younger. There's much more to Jimmy than meets the eye as Ben discovers when Jimmy wins a national photography competition-and Ben's in one of the winning pictures. The portrait leads people to draw some conclusions about Ben and Jimmy, and rumors fly.

Then Jimmy is murdered in what everyone is sure was a hate crime-and not only does Ben do nothing to stop it, he tells no one what he saw. Ben wrestles with his conscience and tries to stay one step ahead of the FBI, but how long can he withhold the truth?