YA Novel published with Green Writers Press, July 24, 2018!
One warm May night at the town reservoir, seventeen-year-old Leda Keogh sees her boyfriend do something awful. She wants to forget it ever happened, but David needs her to be his alibi—and is willing to destroy her family if she refuses. Trapped, Leda must choose between the truth, her boyfriend, and her family.
Jonathan Tanner-Eales feels like an outsider. He’s gay, and life in rural Vermont hasn’t been as idyllic as he hoped it would be. When Jonathan and his boyfriend, Ricky, are attacked during a night swim, Jonathan manages to escape, but must watch, helpless, as Ricky is beaten. Jonathan, plagued by trauma and fear, wrestles with anger and shame in the aftermath of the crime.
That summer, Leda and Jonathan are swept together by chance, and both must reckon with fundamental questions of loyalty and courage. What does it mean to speak the truth when a lie protects the ones you love? Will Leda put the fate of her family and her boyfriend first, or can Jonathan persuade her to tell the truth?
Green Writers Press
A mindful dissection of how allied strength can combat hate.
Kirkus Review
“The author isn’t afraid to make Leda weak and scared, but she also gives her a backbone which she finds away from her revolting boyfriend, making her see how badly he had treated her, and how badly she has behaved as a result.”
— Wrote Podcast
“The ultimate message is a timely reminder that good intentions aren’t enough to stop bad actors.”
— Seven Days VT
“She brings careful, precise and bighearted writing to a devastating and painful topic that she understands professionally and academically as well as humanely. It is a hopeful book but also an honest one, a book that shows the awful things that happen between humans but also they ways in which we can help one another heal.”
— Spectrum Culture
“. . . In Aesop Lake, Vermont based writer Sarah Ward looks at bullying, sexual assault, and gay rights through Aesop’s Fables. Taking care to avoid preaching, Ward makes morality something to be talked about. . . . the story of Leda Keogh, who witnesses a violent hate crime against two of her classmates, a gay couple. Alternating between Leda’s perspective and Jonathan’s, one of the victims of the hate crime, Ward’s story explores what it takes to find courage and speak the truth. . . . Using fables that don’t preach ensures that Ward doesn’t alienate her readers, but rather invites them in. . . while we expect Leda to change from the opening of her novel, Ward still manages to keep us turning the pages, eager to see how Leda’s story will end. This is a testimony to Ward’s superb pacing and ability to sustain the tension for the 204 pages of her book.”
— Amanda Caverzasi, The Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators
Vermont Studio Center, Vermont Artist Week, July 2020 May 6th, 2021 The writing retreat was meant to be an opportunity to work on my next novel: to write uninhibited and let the story flow; to get lost in words. But I arrived with one suitcase full of clothes, a fan, a few books, some snacks
February 24th, 2018 2018 is barely through month two, the second month, the one with the fewest days but the shortest tempers. In Northern New England we all get a bit grumpy in February, because its still winter. The snow becomes ice, the ice becomes rain and mud and we know that it will be
October 15th, 2017 Crisp, sunny autumn in New England, my favorite season, and not just because there are vibrant canopies over winding back roads. I adore everything about this time of year, including football, hunting, and hockey. If you truly know me, then you are scratching your head and wondering if I drank too much
Elsie Stone misses her little sister Hannah who died nine years ago while the family vacationed in Maine. Now at fifteen Elsie wants to stand up to her father and take her mother away from the violence that rules their lives. She must take a chance on Skylar, a boy that wants to be her friend. Together they need to find a way for Elsie and her mom to escape and return to Maine to uncover the truth behind Hannah’s death. Was her father responsible for her sister’s death? How can they find a safe place to go where he won’t find them?
Blog Tour
Wrote Podcasts December 7, 2018
The Other Stories Podcast November 21, 2018
Covered October 26, 2018
Write The Book July 23, 2018
Take a Leaf August 12, 2018
This Blog Will Change Your Life August 11, 2018
