Amil Diaz knows what he saw on the worst night of his life. He isn't the villain his rural Colorado town says he is. But what use is knowing that when everyone around you disagrees?

There is nothing he can do but sulk in his own predicament, exiled from his community, until he meets Zara. Zara, who realizes who he truly is. Zara, who gives him light in darkness. Zara, who has her own hidden past, but loves Amil enough to open her heart. Zara, who is now gone from Amil's life.

And so, he runs. Far, far away from Golden Heights, and the memories of hurt it carries, looking for an answer in the most unlikely of sources. During a journey across America through freight trains, hitchhiking, and an unlikely companion, Amil discovers the relevance of love, fear, notoriety, perception, and trust.

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Complex, emotional, but also humorous and satisfying, read teen author Ayaan Haque's debut novel Golden Heights, a satisfyingly insightful examination of how careless words can permanently injure us in the worst ways.