DEER, BE SILENT. DEER, BE QUICK. BY KAYA COCOE
When life's scars become our deepest secrets, we lose sight of hope.
Casten Shaw knows how to keep secrets—he’s had to his entire life. At sixteen, he’s just a boy trying to survive high school, dodge trouble, and maybe talk to the girl he likes without stammering. But at home, survival means something else entirely. His father is a ghost in the daylight, a monster in the dark—whispers of drugs, danger, and debts trail behind him like smoke. Casten has learned to keep his head down, keep moving, and above all, keep quiet.

But when a brutal mistake drags Casten into his father's world, he’s faced with impossible choices. As the line between right and wrong blurs, Casten must confront the shadows that stalk his home—and the ones he finds within himself. With every decision, he risks becoming the very thing he fears most.

A haunting, heart-wrenching tale of resilience and reckoning, this is a modern cautionary story about how love, even when broken, can be a boy’s last lifeline—or his undoing.

For Mature Audiences Only (17+)