The Fort — Aric Davis

During the waning summer days of 1987, a deranged Vietnam vet stalks Grand Rapids, Michigan, abducting and murdering nameless victims from the streets, leaving no leads for police. That is, until he picks up sixteen-year-old Molly. From their treehouse fort in the woods, three neightborhood boys spy the killer holding a gun to Molly's back, they go to the police -- only to have their story disregarded. But the boys know evil lives in their midst. A growing sense of honor and urgency forces the boys to take action -- to find Molly, to protect themselves, to stand guard for the last long days of summer.

At turns heartbreaking and breathtakingly thrilling, The Fort perfectly renders a coming-of-age story in the 1980s, in those final days of childhood independence, discovery, and paradise lost.