Dana met Brent and Ashley when she first arrived in town, a scared runaway with nowhere to go. The three of them are like family: they take care of each other; they share the money they beg, borrow, and steal; and they protect each other from the more ruthless street people they come upon. Still, life is lived day-to-day. It’s hard to think about tomorrow when you’ve got no money, no food, and no place to live. And as for the past … well, that’s what they ran away from. It’s what all of them-and especially Dana-are trying hard to forget.

Eric Walters’s new novel is a gritty, gripping tale of street kids, an unblinking portrait of what it means to live on the streets and, more importantly, what it takes to find the way off.