I'll Be There

Sloan, H. G. (2011). I'll be there. New York: Little, Brown. With its origins in the familiar Jackson Five song, this haunting title features several memorable characters whose lives intersect in unexpected ways. There's Sam Border, raised by an abusive and mentally ill father, who longs for more and finds solace in music. He can't leave his father because he could never abandon his younger brother Riddle whose quietness hides a gift for architectural detail. There's also Emily Bell, who believes in destiny and who knows that Sam is special from the first moment their eyes meet while she is singing--badly--in church. There is Bobby Ellis, a detective wannabe who is on the case from the beginning. When Clarence Border, the boys' father, moves them from place to place, they find ways to cope with Sam often going on long walks. On one particular day, he happens by the Unitarian Church and hears Emily singing "I'll Be There." Although he fights the attraction, there are definitely sparks between the two. Emily's family ends up inviting Sam for dinner, each of them falling in love with the boys for different reasons. But things are not meant to be. Clarence discovers the cellphone that Emily has given to Sam so they can stay in touch, and he forces the boys to leave town. They head to the wilds of Utah where he ends up wrecking his truck. The boys are left to fend for themselves, and mischance after mischance leads to their being rescued from a river in which they almost drowned. Through a series of fortunate events, a detective is able to trace Riddle back to Emily's mother. Sam somehow makes his way back to town on Prom Night.