Living, or Something Like It

Life had been alright for seventeen years. Then one argument changed everything. Two black eyes and several broken ribs later, Carmen's step-father is in jail and his mother doesn't know whose side she should be on. His attempts to move on with his life are aided by his friends, his extended family, and a few other assorted characters he meets along the way. He lives out his seventeenth year experiencing more hurt and pain then ever before, having death and illness rock his fragile existence.