Most Memorable Moment.

Within this book, there were a variety of moments that occurred which had caught my attention. Most of these intriguing events were those that stirred my emotions. There were moments when I literally wanted to throw the book at the wall, and moments when I started smiling to myself. However, one emotional connection between Danny and his mother enraptured me the most.

Danny's mother, Catherine, was suffering years of physical abuse by her husband, Paul. Danny finds himself in court as his mother fights to have his father kept in jail to keep the family safe. So when his father receives a light sentence, Danny, his younger sister, and his mother enter into a victim protection program to retrieve new identities and a new home... fearing for their lives.

When Danny's life suddenly changed immensely, he didn't know how to cope with things. He was torn between believing his mother who was abused by her father for many years or his father who he looked up to as a role model. Being only 13 years old, he wasn't quite old enough to recognize the seriousness of the situation or the amount of distress his mother was facing. He didn't entirely believe his father could be so perilous and is furious at the way his life changed so much in so little time. He started to withdraw himself from others and became less sociable. He also began to lash out at his mother. It was frustrating because it does seem natural that any child wouldn't know how to manage all the stress, however I was still really disappointed with many of the choices he made.

Whenever Danny's mother tried to be there for him and help him understand that his life had changed for the best, Danny just wouldn't listen. It was hard for him to believe that putting his father in jail and hiding from him was “doing the right thing.” It was upsetting to see that his mother and his younger sister both were putting in so much effort to fix their lives, even with Danny's lack of cooperation.

This is why when Danny and his mother had a heart to heart conversation, it really made me feel happy. Danny was visiting a counsel to talk about why he was making poor decisions and not trying in school. As the counsellor interrogates him and gives Danny questions to think about, it becomes obvious that Danny's counsellor knows about their secret identities and how they had moved to Winnipeg because of Paul. When Danny asked his mother why she had told him, she said it was because she didn't want to lose him. She explained that she had spent so many years lying about his father that it had almost killed her. She didn't want the same thing to happen to him. Danny couldn't stop lying to himself about his father and he was also beginning to make poor choices to deal with the situation. He was stealing, smoking, drinking, and bullying. She said if she hadn't done anything, the lies might have killed him, too. She knew telling the counsellor was putting their family's lives at risk, but she decided it was worth it.

When she explained this to her son, it truly made me understand what a wonderful mother she was. She knew telling someone their family secret could put their safety at risk, but she did it anyways for Danny. She knew she couldn't communicate with Danny about his problems because he wouldn't open up to her, so she sought for other ways to help him instead.

Although the author of this book had done an excellent job to make moments that give the reader a diverse amount of emotions, this moment was the most noteworthy. This memorable moment taught me that there are certain sacrifices that are worth making for your loved ones.