Three Songs for Courage by Maxine Trottier

This book takes place in a small town on the shores of Lake Erie in 1956. Gordon Westley is 16 years old and if you like Jimmy Dean in Rebel without a Cause, you will probably like Gordon. The summer is looking really good for Gordon, he has his best buddies; a new girlfriend, Mary; and his baby, a 1950 Pontiac named the Chief.

The only problem is Lancer, a bully whose violence follows him everywhere. The summer takes a turn for the worst when Gordon finds his brother dead from a fall down the stairs. He like everyone else assumes it was an accident, until he finds evidence that Lancer was at his home that night. That is when Gordon decides to avenge his brother’s death by murdering Lancer. Is revenge the right path? Will Gordon make the right decision?