Aiden is sent to Hawaii to stay with his father, whom he has never met. But when he arrives there he discovers there is no one to meet him. He has no money, and his mother and stepfather do not want him back. Devastated at their betrayal, hungry and heartsore, he walks away from the airport in a random direction, only to be beaten up and have his belongings stolen by vagrants. But Aiden is a fighter. The next morning he determines to find help, and on his way he sees three children being attacked by dogs. He jumps in to save them, and the consequences of this act of bravery leads him down a brand new path. Aiden soon learns that he can choose his own family, and that his past need not always define his future.

Dog Days

I made it to vertical, being careful of my own butt. It was barely light out, and I had no idea how early it was or how Sol—whatever that was short for—had gotten a paper so early.


“‘Boy Arrives on Island Just in Time to Save Local Children from Vicious Attack by Fighting Dogs,’” Sol read. “This young visitor, eighteen, got off a plane at blah blah airport late Thursday. Friday morning, while walking on the beach,” and Sol read on, the story Lefty must have written. Most of the facts were right, or at least close enough, and I was glad they’d gotten my age wrong. I even felt like a man instead of a boy. Eighteen, woo hoo; I’m an adult!


Chapter 13