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ABOUT THE BOOK
One summer seven-year-old Joshua Tanner decided it was no fun to spend every afternoon watching Oprah with his grandma. For just once he wanted to go into the woods behind his apartment complex and swim in the pond with the big boys. But Joshua soon discovered that swimming in the pond is not the only thing that the boys were up to that afternoon. Joshua's discovery at the pond unveils the lives of four teenage boys whose lives take a turn for the worse due to their loyalty to one another. Jay, a near paranoid schizophrenic, veils his problems behind a panic attack that leaves him hospitalized and speechless. Ron, an ex-gang banger from up north, attempts to solve his problems through violence. Allen, an infamous convenience store robber, simply follows the lead of whatever the rest of the motley crew instructs him. And Terrence, the ring leader, attempts to keep the group together while dealing with his drunken foster father. In their attempt to cover their crimes, the boys weave a web that entangles them so deeply until the truth is their only way out. Similarly, Joshua also soon discovers that the truth is his only option from "the lie that binds."
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EXCERPT
Perspiration rolled down the sides of his face and soaked the worn collar of his T-shirt as seven-year-old Joshua Tanner hurried through the waist-high weeds that led to the pond. Every summer since Joshua was four, he had watched the older boys in the housing project disappear into the woods in the afternoon. And since he was four, Joshua had longed to join them. But two things stood in his way - his age and his "Grandma." The older boys insisted he was "too little", and his grandma insisted it was "too dangerous." Today Joshua decided he was tired of both excuses. He didn't think it was fair to watch another summer go by and not be able to go into the woods and swim in the pond with the big boys. Besides he was tired of watching "Oprah" with his grandma.
Anticipation conquered Joshua, propelling his scrawny legs along the dusty path. "Terrence will be so surprised to see me," he said excitedly. "I'll show them I'm big enough. I can swim better than all of 'em," he said panting, grass whipping his bare legs. "I swim in the tub every night 'til Grandma makes me get out."
Joshua had heard plenty of stories about the pond from his grandma and her church friends. Stories of little boys drowning in the pond or getting eaten by bears in the woods were supposed to scare him, but it would take more than a few stories from some old ladies to keep a curious seven-year-old away from an adventure.
"Grandma always wants me to stay in the house," Joshua grumbled. "Always talking 'bout it's too hot or somebody might snatch me and kidnap me. I'll be glad when my mama comes back to get me," he said, his running now turning into a very slow jog. "I bet they got real swimming pools up in Chicago, and I can go swimming any time I want."
Joshua slowed his pace to a walk when he heard the sounds of big trucks on the highway, an indication that he was nearing the pond. He stopped and peeped through the tall grass. Several feet ahead of him was a small bare stretch of land that he mistook for a beach. And beyond the beach lay the famous Ecky's Pond.
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