Out of Eden — Peter Johnson

In the time since his parents' divorce, Stony hasn't had much to say to his father. It's not just the embarrassing things his father does in public, like picking fights with strangers on the golf course, needling his ex-wife about the car she drives, and asking girls whether they're attracted to Stony. It's also that his father hasn't talked with him�"even once�"about his taste in books or girls, or about the painful stuff that has happened, like his grandmother being murdered, “inexplicably,” as Stony's psychiatrist says. Then it's summer, and whatever their relationship issues, Stony is headed for a New Hampshire vacation with his father, his sister, Molly, and his father's girlfriend, Sally. They plan to hike, watch movies at the condo, and visit the local caves. But at their very first stop to get a burger along the turnpike, Stony's father gets into an argument with a creepy-looking skinny guy and his huge friend. Sally calms Stony's father down, and the four of them drive away from the rest area -- -but not, it turns out, from the skinny guy and his friend. OUT OF EDEN is not just about the loss of innocence, it's about coming face-to-face with evil.