Recovery Road Read online

  That’s the thing: You can change things. You can repair mistakes. You can restart your whole life if you have to.

  But some things you never get back. Certain people. Certain moments in time when you don’t know better than to shield your heart.

  You don’t see those moments coming, you don’t know it when they’re happening, but later, as the plainness of life begins to show itself, you realize how important they were. You understand who really changed you, who made you what you are.

  And so I never really say good-bye to Stewart. I keep him inside me. My first love. My best friend. My Lost Prince.

  And if he ever returns he’ll know where to find me. The Academy theater. I’m still here. Feet up. Chomping stale popcorn. Saving him a seat.

  About the Author

  BLAKE NELSON is the author of many acclaimed novels, including Destroy All Cars, Girl, Rock Star Superstar, and Paranoid Park. He lives in Los Angeles, California, but you can visit him on the web at www.blakenelsonbooks.com.

  praise for

  DESTROY ALL CARS

  “Smart and entertaining.”

  —New York Times Book Review

  “Captures the grand visions and the generalized irritation of teen idealism.”

  —Los Angeles Times

  “An elegant and bittersweet story of a teenager who is finding his voice and trying to make meaning in a world he often finds hopeless.” —Publishers Weekly

  “You can’t get out of this novel without loving James.… Blake Nelson’s novels about smart kids who don’t quite fit give a good ride, and leave the reader with plenty to think about.” —Newsday

  Copyright

  Copyright © 2011 by Blake Nelson

  Cover art & design by Christopher Stengel

  All rights reserved. Published by Scholastic Press, an imprint of Scholastic Inc., Publishers since 1920. Scholastic, Scholastic Press, and associated logos are trademarks and/or registered trademarks of Scholastic Inc.

  No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without written permission of the publisher. For information regarding permission, write to Scholastic Inc., Attention: Permissions Department, 557 Broadway, New York, NY 10012.

  Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data available

  First edition, March 2011

  All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of publisher.

  E-ISBN: 978-0-545-33297-2