A photojournalist is attacked and severely injured by the angry mob storming the US Capital on January 6, 2021. One of his attackers may have a connection to the photographer, Ollie, from his prep school days from 1986. Mr. Vega proceeds to spin out this complex and well-written story by toggling back and forth between the events of 1986 and Ollie’s present day recovery, which is complicated by the FBI’s investigation into his assault. This is a captivating story about awkward teenage love and the scars it leaves behind.

The 1986 extended flashbacks are the meat of the book, following Ollie, the nerdy photography club member, as he navigates his senior year at a Long Island prep school. His long-term best friend and neighbor Fiona (“Fi”) urges Ollie to ask out the new girl in school. Navia is from Belgium and is hot and sophisticated – way out of Ollie’s league. But when Ollie’s calculus teacher assigns our hero to tutor Navia, sparks fly and they end up as a couple. Ollie’s awkward attempts to be Navia’s boyfriend are described in deliciously heart-wrenching detail and this portion of the book is the soul of the story. Ollie is possessive, jealous, and borderline insane in his devotion and all-in love for Navia. So . . . classic 18-year-old nerd having his first serious relationship. Mr. Vega nails this portion of the story.

The paradise that exists within Navia’s hazel eyes and auburn hair is interrupted by an incident where the editor-in-chief of the school paper and Ollie’s sometime nemesis, Jackie, is hit in the head by a rock outside Ollie’s house while attending an impromptu Mel Brooks movie party. (Mr. Vega sprinkles in many period references and Long Island locations in the story, to positive effect. When choosing Mel Brooks films for a “first date” event, which ones would you pick?) Jackie, who has had a crush on Ollie for years, recovers, but there is suspicion that Navia might have been the rock-thrower. Later, Navia and Ollie are outside the newspaper’s office when Jackie is assaulted and nearly murdered by a mysterious figure who escapes through a window. The cops bring Ollie in for questioning after he refuses to say why he and Navia were there (in a moment of adolescent stupidity). Then, the cops arrest Ollie for obstruction of justice and force him to spend a night in lock-up, which is a traumatic event for the young man and leads to panic attacks, which then dovetail into Ollie’s struggle to recover from his injuries inflicted during the mele outside the Capital, years later.

All this leads to a crisis for Ollie and Navia at a house party thrown by a classmate, and creates the questions that are alluded to throughout the present-day portion of the narrative: who did Ollie end up married to, and what happened with Navia? I won’t spoil the very surprising ending. I will say that the story is captivating and well-crafted, drawing the reader in and making it imperative to reach the conclusion, even if all the loose ends are not wrapped up as neatly and you might like. But, regardless of how you view the ending, this novel will enthrall you and has rich, well-drawn characters in a believable world. It’s a story that aches to be finished.

Personally, I was not entirely satisfied with the ending. Mr. Vega achieves the goal of surprising the reader and having twists that I did not see coming. However, the internal logic of the story and the connection to the January 6 Capital attack left me scratching my head and not fully accepting the plausibility of the author’s wrap-up.

Nevertheless, this is well done and recommended.

(Note to readers, the flashback chapters and present day chapters last multiple chapters each, often ending on near cliff-hangers, then abruptly resuming later. You should bookmark the end of each segment so you can flip back and recall what was happening in the other time line when you left off.) I received a copy of this book from the author; the comments here are my own honest assessment of the story.