The Year They Fell is my first novel, but I’ve been telling stories my whole life. Growing up as an only child, my two great passions were television and books. And from an early age, I didn’t just watch or read passively. I was involved. In second grade, I sent a letter to the president of NBC with a storyline idea for my favorite show, The A-Team. I never got a response, but a dream was born. Well really, two dreams—but I’m still waiting to meet Mr. T.

I spent twenty years writing for daytime dramas, including Guiding Light, As the World Turns, and All My Children. On soaps, I learned to juggle multiple storylines and write in the voices of different characters of many different ages and backgrounds. However, I was always drawn to the stories involving teens—first love, family drama, coming of age. The stuff of great drama and humor.

The Year They Fell is the story of five kids who were in the same preschool class. As the years have gone by, they’ve drifted apart to the point where, as they enter their senior year of high school, they’re practically strangers to one another. And then, a tragedy involving all their parents brings them back together.

Josie, Jack, Dayana, Archie, and Harrison couldn’t be more different, but they’re forced to build a family when the ones they had are shattered. The book has intense moments and themes, but really, it’s just an extreme version of what we all experience in high school. You go to class and you participate in your activities. You have fun with your friends and work on coexisting with your parents. But at the same time, you’re trying to figure out who you are and where you’re going. You prepare to leave behind the safety of your family and your home to head out on your own. That’s what it comes down to: Finding your place in the world; discovering the things you can do that make you happy; and hopefully make the world a little better in the process.

I think that’s why I love young adult and middle-grade books, TV shows, and movies. It’s why I started writing and producing podcasts for that audience, too. These stories appeal to me as much now as they did when I was that age. When you’re a little kid, your parents make all the choices. They tell you where to go and what to do and they keep you safe. Then you get older, and the choices are yours for the first time in your life, and you truly don’t know. Nothing is planned out. Anything could happen. It’s scary and confusing and it’s also really exciting.

The Year They Fell is told in the voices of all five main characters. Each one is near and dear to my heart. I’m so excited that they finally exist in the world.

The Year They Fell by David Kreizman

The worst moment of your life can help determine who you really are.

Josie, Jack, Archie, Harrison, and Dayana were inseparable as preschoolers. But that was before high school, before parties and football and getting into the right college. Now, as senior year approaches, they're basically strangers to each other.

When their parents die in the same plane crash, most of them are suddenly on their own. And they’re the only people who can really understand what that feels like.

They have to face the issues that drove them apart—and the secrets their parents left behind. How can you keep up appearances when you're falling apart inside? How can you forgive parents who betrayed you? How do you tell someone you’ve been in love with them since preschool?

The answers will help forge a new family in this heartbreaking, funny, and surprising young adult novel from award-winning storyteller David Kriezman. It's a deeply felt, complex journey into adulthood, exploring issues of grief, sexual assault, racism, and trauma.

Start reading now.