Tomorrow you’ll find my look at the most explosive, controversial, disturbing and incredibly well-written book I’ve read in quite a while: Rebecca Coleman’s The Kingdom of Childhood. Coleman is a fellow graduate of the University of Maryland at College Park — and has my same degree: a B.A. in English Literature! So if I didn’t already think she was awesome, I learned she is also a Terp.

In celebration of The Kingdom of Childhood’s release, I’m happy to share a teaser from the work readers everywhere will be talking about very soon. The story of a fiery, passionate affair between a teacher and 16-year-old boy — but so much beyond that, too — I have a feeling this one will be on the lips of many this fall.

As I had done before, I dropped off Scott at home with an excuse that I needed to stop at the grocery store across town. Once we pulled away from the house, Zach said, “I don’t think he’s going to buy that one much longer.”

“He doesn’t care. He isn’t paying attention.”

The side of Zach’s mouth twisted with doubt. “I wouldn’t be too sure. That’s probably what my mother thought, too.”

Head over to Songberries on Wednesday for the next teaser from The Kingdom of Childhood, and pop in tomorrow for my review of this surprising book.