For my independent novel, I chose the book, Hideout, by Watt Key. I have only read the first few chapters, but so far I am really liking it. It has a sense of mystery and some adventure. It is about a boy named Sam, from Jackson, Mississippi, who is twelve years old. His father gave him a fishing boat, but he does not like fishing. Instead, he uses the boat to disappear for hours at a time searching for a dead body that is rumored to be somewhere in the forbidden swampy surroundings of his bayou home. While he is out on his boat one day, he discovers a lone boy named Davey, who is trying to repair an old fishing camp, deep in the woods. Suspicious of the boys explanation as to why he is all alone in the woods, Sam finds himself entangle in his own efforts to help Davey. But this leads to telling small lies that get bigger and bigger as the danger increases for both of the boys and hidden truths become harder to conceal.

It sounds pretty interesting to me, and I am excited to read it.