Suburban Dangers

Sixteen-year-old Kaki Jones is a straight-A student, runs on the cross country track team and exemplifies the all-around great teenager. Her younger brother Brandon is the opposite. He parties, fights at school, has photos of naked girls on his cell phone and is in trouble with the police. But Kaki is the one who harbors a dark secret. Her life has changed ever since she met the cool girl, Sydney Diaz. Now Kaki is a sophomore by day and a commodity sold at the hands of gang members by night. She is now controlled by threats of violence against those she loves. This is the story of what happens when parents look the other way, when a stranger offers more affection than a father and when God’s deliverance is the only answer.

Megan Whitson Lee is a high school English teacher and the author of the award-winning novel, Captives. She lives in Fairfax County, Virginia.