Phoenix Rising — Karen Hesse

Nyle Sumner is an orphan. And in spite of the fact that she and her grandmother live a good life on a Vermont sheep farm, she cannot forget that her father abandoned her. She cannot forget that her mother died in the back room of the farmhouse when Nyle was six. And she cannot forget that her grandfather died in that same room, just a few years ago.

When there's an explosion at a nearby nuclear plant, a woman and her fifteen-year-old son seek refuge in Nyle's house. Ezra Trent has been severely poisoned with radiation, and Nyle is sure that he will die in the back room, just like the others. She'd rather not get to know him; rather not let his death affect her. But somehow inside, Nyle knows she must try to help this person -- that his life depends on it.