Unhinged Hearts

Seventeen-year-old Ethan Cross has always carried more than his share of pain. When his best friend Vic Hale spirals under the weight of trauma and despair, one reckless act shatters their lives and forces Ethan into the center of a trial that could define them both. As the town demands punishment and the system insists on blame, Ethan must decide how far he's willing to go to protect Vic—and whether love means holding on, or learning to let go.

Along the way, he confronts his own scars: a fractured family, the silence that nearly broke him, and the realization that healing isn't about saving someone else, but finding the strength to save yourself. Raw and lyrical, Unhinged Hearts is a contemporary YA novel about trauma, accountability, and the quiet heroism of survival