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Right Behind You

4.08 of 5 stars 4.08 · rating details · 2,236 ratings · 336 reviews

When he was nine, Kip set another child on fire. Now, after years in a juvenile ward, he is ready for a fresh start. But the ghosts of his past soon demand justice, and he must reveal his painful secret. How can Kip tell anyone that he really is--or was--a murderer?

Paperback, 292 pages

Published November 1st 2008 by Little, Brown Books for Young Readers (first published September 1st 2007)

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Mar 08, 2010 Jean rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. The story is located in Alaska. Kip is a 9 year old kid who lives with his father in a cabin. His mother died with cancer.
One day Kip was busy doing some work, his aunt showed up and wanted to take him away from his father and to add more to the problem, his friend was irritating him with his brand new baseball glove. Too many things going on at the same time for Kip, so he didn't think; he grabbed gasoline, spread it in his friend's body and set him on fire.
He was sent to a mental hospital wher...more

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Apr 18, 2012 Betryal rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: hardcover-paperback, young-adult

I didn't know what to expect when I ordered this book, it arrived and I tackled it. It's out of my league on what type of book I usually read. It's Young Adult, true, but it's not M/M either and it's no romance novel either.

Basically it's about Kip and I'm not going to repeat what the summary already tells you about this book, but rather what it does not. It'll go into minute detail on what was going through Kip's mind when he was at the young age of 9 and set that boy on fire. A boy his age who...more

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Dec 18, 2011 Grace rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Murderer. Murderer. Murderer. Those words resonate through Kip McFarland’s brain every time his name is spoken. I am a murderer. When Kip was only a kid, homeschooled in Alaska, he set fire and burned another child to death, by accident. Accident or no, the death stayed with him for every moment of his life. Kip was just getting rid of the aftereffects and the shock of watching his cousin and writhe and scream, but the memory never left him completely. The officials had already sent orders f...more

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Jan 17, 2008 Dracolibris rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: ya-lit, 2008

Kip McFarland is a murderer. In Alaska, Kip set a neighbor boy on fire when he was nine years old. Kip has spent years in a facility for violent juvenile offenders. Kip is 14 years old and is about to be released. It is time for Kip McFarland to disappear.

Starting over again in Indiana with his father and new stepmother, "Wade" enters school for the first time and tries to move away from his violent past. Things seem to be going swimmingly- he gets a best friend, a girlfriend, a newfound intere...more

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Dec 26, 2007 Patrick rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: novelist-reviews

(Disclosure: I blurbed this book)

From the get-go, Giles catapults readers into this story of rage and redemption. The book begins with Kip as a child setting his seven-year-old neighbor in Alaska on fire, then follows his time in a facility for violent juvenile offenders, and his release back out into the world. Rather than asking the common question about violent teens (why?), Giles dares to ask a harder one (what now?). As in her previous novels, Giles spins a page-turning tale of psychologica...more

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Aug 12, 2007 Bethany rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: all teens

Shelves: youngadultfiction

This book was fabulous! The story handles a very delicate issue of rehabilitation and a person's ability to carry on their life afer committing a horrible act.

A year after losing his mother to cancer, 9-year-old Kip McFarland's horrible act was that he set a 7-year-old boy on fire because he was jealous of the kid's baseball glove. How does a child recover from such a terrible thing? Well, for Kip, he spends 4 years in a lockdown psychiatric facility and with the love and support of his Dad and...more

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Mar 04, 2013 Milosz Gajda rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

"Right Behind You" is a great book for anyone that is interested in action and like inspirational books. In the book, a young boy name Kip starts a boy his age on fire because he was jealous of a baseball glove the kid had. After many years of therapy, Kip, under his new name Wade is ready to go back and live with his family and for them to start a new life after their cabin was set on fire in Alaska. In Indiana, Wade meets a lot of new people and his life is normal, until one day him and his bu...more

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Apr 26, 2013 Charonda added it · review of another edition

Shelves: right-behind-you

Pouring gaslione light the body it goes into flames both young boys screaming one in shock one on fire

On a windy day in alsaka a nine year older by the name of Kip Mcfarland set a seven year old Bobby on fire because of a baseball gloves Bobby had came over to show Kip his baseball glove hie got for his birthday kip just want bobby to go away but bobby keep bragging about the glove and0 how poor Kip was he couldnt even afford a glove that his mother couldn't buy Kip a glove like that because Ki...more Pouring gaslione light the body it goes into flames both young boys screaming one in shock one on fire

On a windy day in alsaka a nine year older by the name of Kip Mcfarland set a seven year old Bobby on fire because of a baseball gloves Bobby had came over to show Kip his baseball glove hie got for his birthday kip just want bobby to go away but bobby keep bragging about the glove and0 how poor Kip was he couldnt even afford a glove that his mother couldn't buy Kip a glove like that because Kip mother had die of cancer n thats what set Kip off he just want little Boby to go away and leave him alone moments later Kkip father ran utside to help bobby and he burned hisself and took his shirt off and put it on bobby while rolling him on the ground scared little Kip rolling up the pick up truck scared and not knowning what to do the abulance took a long time to get the the cabin then they had to fly Bobby to a hosptial where three days later he died. Days after the accident happened Kip woke up out of the coma and not speakingto anyone they decided to send him to a mental hosptial where he went to school and had a shrink he was the youngest crimanal in the ward.

Four years of being in the ward he got released and ready to start a new life but he had to get used to being called a different name because the town of Alsaka knew who Kip Mcfarland was and what he did some feel he got off to easy with a true punishment. him his daddy and his daddy new wife moved to Indiana his started fresh new name, new house, new school with being able to make new friend he got a girlfriend and a bestfriend one night he told his secret the fact the he kill a boy when he was nine and got sent to a mental ward he scared them and his bestfriend dave told him that he couldnt be friends with somebody that purposely killed a child.

So once again they had to move up and leave next place was Texas and they leave on the beach where wade decided to finish high school at home he was afraid he would tell the secret again and he didnt want to have carrie and his dad move again because that was their house and they where happy and wade fell in love witha girl named sam and she told him her secrets so why he couldnt tell her his secrets so he wrote a book telling her everything and she didnt judge him i like this book alot I readed it twice (less)

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Mar 03, 2013 Matt Geborek rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

When Kip was nine years old he was already motherless and burned a kid to death by accident. Kip has been in a psych ward for many years and is getting out soon at 15. He has moved from Alaska to Indiana and then to Texas to try and live a normal life again. Kip had to change his name to Wade when he moved to Indiana. Kip's problem is he thinks he doesn't deserve to live a happy life. Whenever life takes off for him, he ruins it. One night he told his friends in Indiana because they said he had...more

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Jan 17, 2013 Cortney rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Cortney Burgess p.5
The book Right behind you was a thrilling novel, the book consist of the characters Kip who then changes his name to Wade, his father and his father’s girlfriend, Carrie , Sam who are neighbors. The setting takes place at first in Alaska where kip and his father lives his mother passed away when he was young. He is sent to a mental hospital and after his recover then moves to Indiana, although the past keeps catching up with him he has to continue to move. Will he ever find co...more
Cortney Burgess p.5
The book Right behind you was a thrilling novel, the book consist of the characters Kip who then changes his name to Wade, his father and his father’s girlfriend, Carrie , Sam who are neighbors. The setting takes place at first in Alaska where kip and his father lives his mother passed away when he was young. He is sent to a mental hospital and after his recover then moves to Indiana, although the past keeps catching up with him he has to continue to move. Will he ever find common ground with himself? This book is from Kips point of view. I think this book always kept on your feet, there constantly was something happening it was not ever dual. I liked how Gail Giles ended the book it was a great way to end it, although would have liked to know what happened to the characters. Another thing I liked about the book is how good of a job Gail prorated Kip/Wade’s emotions.
The book ending was in, my opinion fantastic. The ending left me wanting to know more of what happened to the main characters of the book and how they’re lives are continuing. I think the ending also explains the title of the book and reading thought the book explains it too; how is past keeps catching up with him. I also like how you think the book will not end in a positive way but the ending is unexpected because of everything that has happened to Kip/Wade. All in all this book has a wonderful ending.
Another reason why I liked the book Right Behind you, was because of how the Author, Gail Giles did an outstanding job of portraying the characters feelings. Kip/ Wade’s emotions were very detailed throughout the book you knew what he was feeling and thinking and his thoughts. I think that this book puts your point of view of someone who has done something bad in his or hers life because the author did such a good job on expressing the emotions of the character. The author makes you feel like you’re in Kip/Wades shoes making the book even better.
In conclusion I think this book changes you opinion about people in Kips situation and how their lives are and if you should forgive the person because people can change and some people may not. This book I give thumbs up on I’d give it 4.5 stars. The book pertains to young adults and teenagers so if your interested give this book a read!
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Sep 30, 2012 readknitread rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: high-school-reads, middle-school-reads, realistic-fiction, secrets

An compelling book that really makes one feel for Kip/Wade. A story about never being able to forgive yourself and self perception.

9 year old Kip is having a hard time dealing with things. His mom died of cancer, he's stuck in the Alaska wild and his dad never lets up on him. And then his aunt tries to make it worse by threatening to seek custody and move him to another state. So when Bobby Clarke came over and started to brag about his birthday presents Kip just wants to make him shut up. Shut...more

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Jul 02, 2012 Lthelibrarylover rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This book is ok. It looks at how young people need to readjust to the world after being released from prison or mental institutions. In this novel Kip spends 4- 5 years in a psych ward after setting a child on fire which resulted in death. The novel begins a few weeks before he is released and looks at the issues of transition between an institution and re-engaging in the 'real world'. Kip’s issues are made worse by the fact that at his release he is a teenager which creates many other issues on...more

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May 21, 2012 Jessica Suhr rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

How do you define "crazy" or "criminal"? This book highlights the courage and strength it takes one boy to overcome his past and grow back into a normal societal setting. Kip McFarland lost his mother when he was just 9 years old, and blamed her for leaving him and not trying to get hospital care for her cancer. Kip's Dad became distant and living in Alaska, Kip wasn't really close to many kids his age. The story starts off with a boy lost looking for some kind of happiness. He is taunted by hi...more How do you define "crazy" or "criminal"? This book highlights the courage and strength it takes one boy to overcome his past and grow back into a normal societal setting. Kip McFarland lost his mother when he was just 9 years old, and blamed her for leaving him and not trying to get hospital care for her cancer. Kip's Dad became distant and living in Alaska, Kip wasn't really close to many kids his age. The story starts off with a boy lost looking for some kind of happiness. He is taunted by his neighbor Bobby Clarke who is only 7. He has a baseball glove that he got for his birthday and rubs it in Kip's face that he doesn't have a mother to buy him one and that his dad is too poor. A 9 year old boy with no hope to be happy in his life. He douses Bobby Clarke in gasoline that his Dad left out to start up a bonfire and Bobby Clarke is murdered. So, my question is, and the overall theme of this story is, How does one measure a "crazy" person? How can you really say this 9 year old boy deserves to die, and to never be trusted in a normal society?

This story brings the theme of "normalcy" and how to measure that in a society. Yes, murder is murder, and everyone has their own opinion on what fair punishment is, but a 9 year old boy? What should happen to him? He spends years and years of his childhood in a psych ward, with other characters named Slice n Dice and TwoFer. Slice n Dice was put away for slaughtering other neighbor's pets and leaving them in their yard, and TwoFer was "pimped" by his dad to other men and stabbed one of the clients. So does Kip really measure up to these boys? I really enjoyed this book because it took the reader along a journey of how a boy turns to a hated criminal and how he must cope with himself. He constantly blames himself for everything and believes that he should never feel happiness. I don't think I've ever looked through the murderer's eyes in a story, so this was a good depiction of what they endure. Kip felt shame and guilt for his actions which was 100% different than the boys he spent time with. This story definitely highlights how people function and how they judge so easily. Kip and his family were run out of town and he was sent away to be institutionalized.

I loved this book for so many reasons. Kip reminds me of characters I've read about in other books like Exit Here or Dead End. This was a great depiction of the struggle of the mind that we all face. Yes, he murdered another person, but he faced guilt, anger and shame for the rest of his life and eventually was able to move on and find some acceptance. He struggles with gluing his family back together while adapting to a new location and his surroundings in Texas. I definitely recommend this novel for anyone who enjoys listening in to the mind of a wounded and tortured person trying to find their way. (less)

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Mar 08, 2012 Brenda rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

At the age of nine, Kip McFarland is a troubled child. Living with his dad in the Alaskan wilderness after his mother's death, Kip is lonely and jealous of other kids' easy lives. So jealous, in fact, that when his seven-year-old neighbor stops by to show off a brand new baseball glove, he sets the glove, and the boy on fire. Institutionalized for the next several years in a mental hospital, Kip gains a reputation, not only for killing another kid but also for his short temper. With the help of...more

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Feb 08, 2012 Margo Berendsen rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2012-my-reads, ya-contemporaray, recommend-with-caveat, young-adult

Amazing story; I couldn't put it down until I finished it. The voice is spot on. 9 year old Kip is in a mental ward after killing a little boy in a fit of rage. He did it in coldblood - or did he? After 5 years, he's rehabilitated and released and allowed to start over again with a new name, Wade, and a horrible secret to keep.

His guilt keeps tempting him to self-destruct. His dad and stepmom stand by him; they aren't perfect but they keep trying. They have faith in him, even when the secret ge...more

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Jan 15, 2012 Christie rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: ya

On the afternoon on his seventh birthday, I set Bobby Clarke on fire.

I was nine.

It was all about Bobby’s birthday present.

A baseball glove.

Gail Giles YA novel Right Behind You grabbed me from the start. It’s the story of Kip McFarland who lives a hardscrabble life with his father in the Alaskan wilderness. Kip’s mom has recently died of cancer, and you get the impression that Kip and his father aren’t coping too well.

When Bobby Clarke shows up to gloat about his new baseball glove, Kip overreact...more

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Aug 24, 2011 Erin Reilly-Sanders rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fiction, teen

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Jan 26, 2011 Shannon (aka Readergirl) rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: favorites

Let me start out by saying that I was prepared to hate this book. I have very strongly held opinions on certain things, and one of them is that it's completely unforgiveable for someone to murder a child, even if the perpetrator was a child himself. I often cling to my beliefs and stubbornly refuse to be swayed, even, I'm ashamed to admit, when someone can logic me out of them. This book shook my beliefs.

I found myself becoming so sympathetic to Kip/Wade, even if I didn't want to. There were ext...more

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Jan 24, 2011 Kelly Hager rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

When Wade was younger, he lived in Alaska and was named Kip. The reason why his name and location are different, now that he’s in high school? He just got out of a mental hospital, where he spent years. And the reason for THAT is because when he was nine, he killed a seven-year-old boy…by setting him on fire.

He’s now in his fourth home (Alaska and hospital being the first two) because in his third home, he told some people who he was. Now in home number four, his parents have made it clear that...more

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Jan 12, 2011 Sky added it · review of another edition

1/12/10
This is one of thos books that you cannot put down. I ended up reading this book in one day. The author of this book has started out with a unique begnning. This book was about this boy who feels like he doese not get what other people do. His mother had died when he was six years old, and so he lives with his dad. One day his friend comes over and and shows him his new baseball glove and he didint like it. He ended up starting him on fire and not realizing what he did when he spiled th...more

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Aug 29, 2010 Karin rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2011-abe-lincoln-nominees, therapy, violence, high-school, juvenile-detention, child-criminals, young-adult-fiction, forgiveness, friendship, families, borrowed-from-the-library

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. When Kip was 9, he set another boy on fire. He was young, he was angry, and he didn’t really think about the consequences – he just lashed out in anger at something the boy had said. When Bobby, 7 years old, started screaming and burning, it was already too late. Bobby died 2 days later. Kip became catatonic. When he regained his faculties, he was in an institution for mentally disturbed (and violent) youth. Kip spent several years at the institution, coming to terms with what he did and learnin...more When Kip was 9, he set another boy on fire. He was young, he was angry, and he didn’t really think about the consequences – he just lashed out in anger at something the boy had said. When Bobby, 7 years old, started screaming and burning, it was already too late. Bobby died 2 days later. Kip became catatonic. When he regained his faculties, he was in an institution for mentally disturbed (and violent) youth. Kip spent several years at the institution, coming to terms with what he did and learning to deal with his powerful emotions. Eventually, his therapist was able to convince authorities that Kip was no longer a danger to society. When Kip was released into his dad’s custody, he learned just how hard things had been for his dad, the repercussions of his actions (neighbors burned their house to the ground, his dad lost his job and had to move, hateful retaliation followed his father wherever he went). They decided it would be best if they moved away from Alaska (and the scene of Kip’s crime), and took on new lives and names. Kip became “Wade” and he and his dad (and dad’s new wife, Carrie) moved to Indiana.

In Indiana, Wade follows his therapist’s advice and he rapidly makes friends. He joins the swim team, he finds a girlfriend, he does well in school. Everything is going really well for him until one night when he sabotages it all by revealing who he really is and what he did. At first no one is sure what to think, but when Wade’s story is confirmed he immediately becomes a pariah and all of the small town’s fear and hatred becomes focused on him and his family. Again. Wade feels terrible – mostly because his self-destructive behavior has once again made things impossible for his father and Carrie. They make another escape – this time to the Texas coast, where Carrie has inherited a beach house from her deceased ex-step-father. It’s there that Wade meets another broken teenager who helps him learn the hardest lesson – that he may never be able to forgive himself for what he did, but that he doesn’t need to punish himself any longer.

Wade decides to share his story one last time (in this book you’re reading) with the girl he’s come to know – Sam, who has her own traumatic tale to tell, the one he wants more than anything to understand him. Before he writes it down, however, he clears it with his dad and Carrie, and he makes sure that Sam understands the effect it would have on his family if it were to be made public knowledge. And then he waits. He waits for Sam and hopes. But he also plans to leave if she’s just one more person who can’t accept the truth about him.

This was really gripping. Psychologically, Wade was a fascinating character. He’s also smart and funny, too, which helps. And he’s truly horrified by what he did. There was never any suspense for me as to whether he’d kill again (that’s what everyone else seemed to be afraid of). He made plenty of other mistakes, but he knew immediately when he’d screwed up. This story could lead to some interesting discussions about forgiveness, punishment, unforgivable crimes, juvenile criminals, and what *you’d* do if you just found out your closest friend had killed someone. It was the people who responded to Wade’s crimes with equal violence that worried me more than Wade did. Because they thought they were administering some kind of justice (however warped that might be). What kind of responsibility do we have to confront potential dangers to our society? Should we take steps to punish, seek vengeance or retribution, beyond what our criminal justice system offers? Uncomfortable, but satisfying read.(less)

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Jun 13, 2010 Kari rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

A gutting and distinctive premise combined with a strong YA voice mixed with potent writing make Right Behind You a visceral read. This book is a perfect example of the gray areas often overlooked in any violent act, something that seems on the surface horrible and the blame easy to place. Giles does a remarkable job twisting the situation, spotlighting how there are often two victims rather than one in any violent crime.

Kip remembers setting Bobby Clark on fire when he was just nine. He remembe...more A gutting and distinctive premise combined with a strong YA voice mixed with potent writing make Right Behind You a visceral read. This book is a perfect example of the gray areas often overlooked in any violent act, something that seems on the surface horrible and the blame easy to place. Giles does a remarkable job twisting the situation, spotlighting how there are often two victims rather than one in any violent crime.

Kip remembers setting Bobby Clark on fire when he was just nine. He remembers the events leading up to the act and he remembers exactly what triggered it. On the surface, jealousy over Bobby’s new baseball glove. Lurking deeper, a myriad of emotions and reasons that carry far past the basic act of dousing gasoline on a seven year old boy and throwing a lighter on him. Kip is a child on a very destructive path, one that keeps him in a state mental ward of juvenile offenders for four years. Unable to look past his own self hatred, bitterness and guilt, the reader starts the book wondering if Kip will find a way to make it past things. Yet, he does, soon transforming into Wade Madison in an effort to keep his sordid past hidden. With a chance to start over in a new state, it seems as though things will be alright.

Kip’s dad is another arresting part of this book, a father who’s been wrecked a few times but still pushes on. His interactions with Wade are not ones of hatred but of love, a level of emotion that is consuming at times. Carrie is equally as empowering, accepting Kip despite his past and loving him easily as her own son. Though she came into the picture after the fire, Carrie maintains a strong role throughout the book and is as memorable as Kip and his father.

Despite having a new name, Kip is still prominent, holding the strings for much of Wade’s actions. His thoughts and motivations are wrenching and breaking, coming across smoothly throughout the novel. There is no lack of a connection between Wade and the reader, forged early on as the events of the fire, his subsequent comatose state then rehab are portrayed. The book is divided into three sections, each one marking a different part of Wade’s life and recovery. Throughout the book, the overall mental voice and character remain, shifting subtly as Wade changes.

The plot is one of character development and understanding, an interesting twist on a coming of age type of story. The situations Wade finds himself in are played out very reasonably for the set up, particularly of a teenage boy who has been institutionalized for years and is now trying to hide it. His continued self destruction is hard to read but understandable, further strengthening the sympathy and emotion towards him.

A bold story line, stunning writing, and striking characters combine to make Right Behind You a quick but well worth it and emotional read. This is a book that will challenge a situation deemed on the surface as easy to interpret. The continued ramifications of Kip’s actions, even years down the road, appear throughout the book, cropping up at unexpected times but maintaining a constant state of remembrance. Overall, this is a powerful book about a boy whose biggest enemy is himself.(less)

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Feb 18, 2010 Misty rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

When I picked this book up, I never expected to like the main character, Kip. At the time the book opens, Kip, nine, sets his friend Bobbie, seven, on fire over a baseball glove. Bobby dies.
Kip then becomes a product of the system when he is placed in a facility for violent juvenile offenders. Worse, he becomes a product of what he believes other see him as: a child murderer and a monster. As he matures from child to teenager he uncovers the truth—even though he committed an atrocious act, he is...more

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Dec 10, 2009 Jessica rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: realistic, young-adult

Several things are inexplicably popular, at least allegedly, despite the fact that hardly anybody actually likes them. Evidence of this is seen with Fruit-Roll-Ups- nobody eats those anymore- and the Republican Party. Another good example is Social Issue Novels, which if awards like the Gateway are to be believed are the absolute most popular class of novel for teenagers. This is not true. Nobody reads social issue novels. Teenagers hate being told what to do with their lives; did you really thi...more Several things are inexplicably popular, at least allegedly, despite the fact that hardly anybody actually likes them. Evidence of this is seen with Fruit-Roll-Ups- nobody eats those anymore- and the Republican Party. Another good example is Social Issue Novels, which if awards like the Gateway are to be believed are the absolute most popular class of novel for teenagers. This is not true. Nobody reads social issue novels. Teenagers hate being told what to do with their lives; did you really think they would read entire books you wrote to tell them what to do with their lives? Nevertheless, they continue to hand out awards to these books like it’s going out of style. (It was never in style.) Why? Well, because adults love it when other adults tell teenagers what to do. It provides the whole group with a sense of unity.

I bring this up because, much like “November Blues”, the next Gateway Award book I will be discussing, “Right Behind You”, is a social issue novel. It’s based around the idea of child criminals, which is something the author read about on the internet once and thought sounded like a good idea for a book. Basically, child criminals are like in comic books when they tell you the supervillian was evil when he was a little kid because he ate his parents’ eyeballs while they were sleeping or something, except it’s real life. It’s creepy and horrifying and quite frankly the kind of thing that should only ever have to happen in campy horror films, and I never really needed to know it was real life. The author of “Right Behind You” insists on playing out this plot in the most hideously realistic way possible, to the point that it’s irritating. The protagonist, whose name escapes me because I don’t care, killed a dude once when he was six or whatever, by setting him on fire, and now he’s getting out of juvenile hall and has to pretend to be a normal kid again. “Normal kid” of course involves a lot of drinking and Betty/Veronica love interests.

With a premise like that, it seems unthinkable that this novel could be anything but interesting, and yet it frequently wanders into “complete boredom” territory. How is this accomplished? The author has chosen to go with the “too much information” method, in which he tells us way too much about fascinating details such as Murderer Kid’s biology class. Nobody cares! This is a mistake I have seen many teen lit authors make- they forget that they are, in fact, writing for an audience of teenagers, who are going to take these things as a matter of course, and describe non-plot-relevant-but-important-components-of-modern-teenager-life-I-think things such as bitchy cheerleaders and wild teen parties as if they were strange rituals from an alien planet. Which of course to your basic author they are. They never went to any parties or talked to any cheerleaders. None of us have. Another trap of bad writing the author tends to fall into is skipping over huge passages of time with merely a paragraph stating, more or less, “Then some time passed. Here’s basically what happened to everyone”. Needlessly to say, this comes across as a bit sloppy.

However, what I think is the book’s biggest failure is that it's floundering around trying to address problems that are really much too big for it. The major theme is that of whether the protagonist can ever forgive himself for killing another child when he was young, and whether other people would ever forgive him, whether indeed he should be forgiven. While this is of course a fascinating moral quandary and all that sort of thing, it’s a bit odd in that the author never seems to come to a definite conclusion about any of those questions, and while a lot of things happen in the book, sort of, Protagonist comes out of it all without any character development in any particular direction, and… I’m not sure why. Or how I feel about it, because while it’s always nice to see the old Aesop subverted, I was left wondering why the hell I’d even bothered to read the book anyway. It’s a book with no message that reaches no conclusions about the human spirit or unique teenage issues, and all in all I can’t help feel that “Right Behind You” didn’t do what it was built to do.

Also I’ve forgotten what the title means.
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Apr 29, 2009 Wai Sing rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

A mistake made by one boy changed his life forever. At the age of nine in alaska he did something that forever changed him and haunts him till this day. This boy named kip Mcdonald who did the most dangerous crime and was punished by being sent into a mental insitution where he send six years in solidtary confinement. now six year of rehab and now he is out and send free back into the wirld where he can get a second chance in society. It was kip second chance at life, but it was kip job to to v...more A mistake made by one boy changed his life forever. At the age of nine in alaska he did something that forever changed him and haunts him till this day. This boy named kip Mcdonald who did the most dangerous crime and was punished by being sent into a mental insitution where he send six years in solidtary confinement. now six year of rehab and now he is out and send free back into the wirld where he can get a second chance in society. It was kip second chance at life, but it was kip job to to vanish from society as though he never existed. Now with a new name and a new identity where no one should ever learn the horrible deal he had committed and he begins his new life as a new person.

Reading this book was one of my best experience. it teaches young men like me to be careful about what you do as a young boy. if you do something bad like kip did than you will end up growing up with a bad atttiude, a bad life, and also be haunted by the vision of the incident that day. it teaches people an important lesson about society. a lesson aboout how a young man could have stopped what he was doing before he acutally did the crime. kips was one of these men. he chose to kill someone because he felt jealous of this little boy. he wanted something he could never get. he had an item kips always wanted and the jealousy he felt enraged him to take the action of killing someone out of hate and jealous for something he couldn't have and was deprive of. kips knew he had hatred and he used that hatred in a negative way. he took his hate and commit the crime so he could get what he wanted and what he wanted was the baseball glove. but, unlike kip i dont let jealousy get in my way. i overpower jealousy, because i refuse to do anything evil and hurt or kill someone out of jealously. i dont want to be that demon who wants to kill someone out of jealous for an item that i could never have. simply, because i don't want my life to be worse if i was to hurt or kill someone out of jealous. its absurb and insane to do something like tis, because people who commite the cirme will regret ever doing it in the first place. everyone face punishment for the crimes they commit. i refuse to do anything that has to do with violence whatsoever. (less)

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Mar 19, 2013 Vince Jansen rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I thought this book was a very good book, it dealt with problems of teenagers and it was inspiring. it showed that no matter what you do you can always still succeed if you try hard enough and that someone will always be there for you. Kip was a young boy that set his neighbor on fire, he was sent to a special place where he was with other young criminals for five years. When he was released he changed his name and moved to Indiana, where he went by wade. After about a year he got drunk and told...more

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Nov 19, 2012 Ben Langdon rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

As a high school English teacher, I'm always on the lookout for great YA books which will grab my students' attention and take them on a roller coaster ride of reading goodness.

Gail Giles' story of Kip/Wade is one of only a few that NEVER misses. I've introduced it to, perhaps, 100 students in Year 10 (age 15-16) and every one, boys and girls, avid readers and reluctant ones, have been transfixed by the story.

It helps that Giles has an incredible hook: what happens when a child kills another c...more

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Sep 26, 2012 Kate rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2012, age-ya, psychological, realistic

When Kip was a child, he set another little boy on fire because of a baseball glove. After spending years in a lockdown mental ward, Kip has a chance at a new life. Because the hate of the community pushed out his father and stepmother, Kip and his family move from Alaska to Indiana and change their names. Now named Wade, Kip tries to pretend his crime never happened, yet he is consumed by crushing guilt that becomes self-destructive.

Kip's behavior was spot-on with someone feeling the way he doe...more

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Sep 28, 2007 Meaghan rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: teenagers and true crime buffs

Shelves: childrens-young-adult-fiction, mental-hospital, read-in-2007

This was definitely Gail Giles's best book, after Shattering Glass. Kip McFarland burned another child to death at the age of nine and spent the next several years inside a mental institution. Now he's been released, but can he ever release himself from the guilt? This topic is definitely relevant in today's world, given all the press about juveniles committing violent crimes, and I thought it was a wonderful journey of guilt, forgiveness and redemption.

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Jul 22, 2011 Courtney rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: anyone

Shelves: high-school-drama, rite-of-passage, violence, young-adult-literature

Wade has a secret that is unforgivable. First of all, his name isn't really Wade. Second, he murdered another child when he was nine. All he remembers is tossing gas on the kid, flicking open the lighter, then seeing the flames. After several years in a mental facility, the court says that he's ready to reenter society, but society doesn't want him. Painted as a monster, his family must move and assume a new identity to protect themselves. Unfortunately, the bad thing about secrets is that they...more

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About Gail Giles

Gail Giles is the author of four young adult novels. Her debut novel, Shattering Glass, was an ALA Best of the Best Book, a Book Sense 76 selection, and a Booklist Top 10 Mystery for Youth selection. The novel is about an high school boy named Simon Glass that is helped to become one of the most popular dogs in school by other students. Her second novel, Dead Girls Don’t Write Letters, was an ALA...more

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Quotes from Right Behind You

“I figured out that I can't forget. I can't really forgive. But I can live. Live with it. Like you live with a scar or a limp or whatever. You always know it's there. It reminds you never to let yourself do anything so stupid and horrible and wrong again. I step out of my rut, step again, and keep stepping. (277)” — 43 people liked it

“Just like the breakthroughs, the bad stuff always takes you by surprise. (121)” — 17 people liked it

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