Avoidance

How does someone, excluded from the only community he or she has ever known, go on living? Harvard student, Jeremy Stull lives with a devout Amish family to observe their faith and strict shunning of those who breach it. This is a novel exploring an age-old dilemma: individual desire versus the good of the group. For Jeremy Stull, community means Ironwood, a summer camp in the Vermont woods. First as a camper, then as assistant director, Jeremy has found in Ironwood's rituals a sturdy foundation for his life. But when he is blindsided by the seductive charm of Max, a 14-year-old boy from Manhattan, all arms and legs and attitude, Jeremy must confront both his own confusing desires and a legacy of disturbing secrets at his beloved sanctuary. Extraordinary prose and daring material mark a spectacular and involving read.