Home › Kids Books › Standing Too Close

Standing Too Close

by Kate Larkindale

A teenager’s effort to protect his brothers

Regular price $16.94 USD
Regular price $22.59 USD Sale price $16.94 USD
Save 25%

Paperback New

Delivery to your door
In stock·Dispatches in 1–2 business days
Standard shipping* from $4.35
Standard shipping transit* 5–8 business days after dispatch

Faster options are available.

Rates and delivery estimates depend on your destination and item quantity. Estimates are informational only; the final shipping method and rate are selected at checkout.

Secure checkout
American Express Apple Pay DiscoverGoogle Pay Mastercard PayPalVisa
30-day eligible returns Returns & refunds policy

AlbakiReads Editorial

A teenager’s effort to protect his brothers

Seventeen-year-old Blue Lannigan takes responsibility for his two younger brothers in a home marked by their mother’s drinking and abuse. When he decides they cannot wait for him to turn eighteen before leaving, an attempt to find shelter at an empty lakeside house brings an unexpected complication. A grocery-store incident then separates the brothers and places Blue in a group home, shifting his efforts toward finding them again. The story’s central tension grows from Blue’s protective role: he is trying to keep his brothers safe while confronting the limits and costs of taking that responsibility on alone.

Good fit for readers who enjoy

  • Teens and young adults interested in fiction about sibling bonds and family hardship.
  • Readers seeking a story centered on poverty, homelessness, and a young person navigating separation from family.

Themes

Sibling responsibility and protectionFamily abuse and alcohol misusePoverty and housing insecuritySeparation and resilience

Based on publisher information and book metadata.

Book overview

Editor's Pick

Seventeen-year-old Blue Lannigan believes in exactly one thing: his two younger brothers deserve more than the crappy apartment and abusive, drunken mother they're stuck with. And when he comes home to find one brother bruised and bleeding (again), the other cowering in terror (again) and their mother drunk off her ass, blaming all three of them for her tanked singing career (again), Blue decides waiting until he's 18 to leave is no longer an option.

Deciding to hole up in an empty house at the lake until Blue can figure out what to do next, things get more complicated when the owner of the house arrives unexpectedly. Especially when Blue realizes the unconscious woman they've tied up on the couch isn't a stranger after all, but someone who could give him just what he's looking for.

After avoiding reality and playing house, a scene at the grocery store lands him in handcuffs and his brothers with a social worker. Add to that losing his job and being stuck in a group home he hates, and Blue's sole purpose becomes finding his brothers and getting them out of whatever hellhole they're in. Blue's hopes unravel, and betrayal rips his heart in two as he tries to reconcile the role he plays in his brothers' lives while trying to figure out his own.
Shipping & returnsShipping options, delivery timing, and our return policy.

In-stock items normally dispatch within 1–2 business days. The ZIP-code estimator on this page is informational only; the final shipping method, price, and availability are confirmed at checkout for your full order.

For the initial delivery estimate we use these transit windows after dispatch: Standard 5–8 business days, Expedited 2–4 business days, and Priority 1–2 business days. Holiday delays are not included.

Eligible items can be returned within 30 days in accordance with our return policy.

Customer reviews