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Will I still be loved if I show people who I really am? Four high school seniors. Four secrets about to be told.
"This novel is The Breakfast Club meets 127 Hours. Recommended." --School Library Journal
If Indie had it her way, she would never choose to river raft with three other high school seniors, mostly strangers to each other, from her journalism class.
A loner, a jock, an outsider, an Instagram influencer. At first they can t see anything that they have in common. As the trip unfolds, the unpredictable river forces them to rely on each other. Social masks start to fall as, one-by-one, each teen reveals a deep secret the other three don t know.
One is harboring immense grief and unwilling to forgive after the death of a loved one. One is dealing with a new disability and an uncertain future. One is fearful of the repercussions of coming out. One is hiding behind a carefully curated perfect image on Instagram.
Before they get to the end of Hells Canyon, they ll know the truth about each other and, more importantly, learn something new about themselves.
What the Other Three Don't Know is a poignant and gripping YA novel about the unlikely friends who accept you for who you really are and the power of self-acceptance.
About the Author
Spencer Hyde spent three years of his high school experience visiting Johns Hopkins for severe OCD. He feels particularly suited to write this novel because he’s lived through his protagonists’ obsessions. Spencer worked at a therapeutic boarding school before earning his MFA and his PhD specializing in fiction. He wrote Waiting for Fitz while working as a Teaching Fellow in Denton, Texas. He is currently an assistant professor of English at Brigham Young University. Stories have a way of changing lives–Spencer learned that the first time he picked up a Tom Stoppard play and realized that words can nudge the world and build bridges to hope. Spencer and his wife, Brittany, are the parents of four children.