Genre: Fictional Drama

In this contemporary fictional drama, Henry's Father tells him that if you build your house far enough away from Trouble, it will never find you. However, Trouble does find them in the form of Henry's older brother Franklin getting hit by a car. The story deals with issues of racism as a Cambodian immigrant named Chay is believed to have been the one who hit Franklin. Henry eventually learns that Trouble is inevitable, forcing him to face it and learn how to deal with it's consequences.

Most of us still fall into the category of people who go through life thinking that’ll never happen to me. I think this is why Henry’s character is so appealing to young adult readers; Henry’s average teenage life is shattered by tragedy, yet he survives. Schmidt takes an ordinary boy in an ordinary town and weaves him through a tapestry of trials that leave him stronger in the end than when he started. Here, we see the classic young hero overcoming the worst and coming out a better person in the end. This coming of age story is inspiring because it is so raw and feasible: Henry isn’t some sort of hero that we can simply dream of becoming—the trials he goes through and the way he handles them are one hundred percent realistic. Though I wanted so badly for trouble to quit finding Henry and his family as the novel progressed, I found myself grateful for everything he went through because it made him stronger, united his family, and taught him the valuable lesson of how to deal with pain. In the end, everything is tied together and healed through love and grace, proving to readers that the saying is true: what doesn’t kill you really does make you stronger.