Book excerpt: It is the summer of 1971. Twenty-one-year-old Charlie Rogers has just graduated from the University of Texas in Austin and is hitching a ride toward the backwoods of East Texas. His first adventure along the uncertain and open-ended path of adulthood is a job as a counselor for a group of emotionally disturbed, delinquent adolescents from the south side of Chicago. Charlies will, his responsibility, and his confidence in his ability to persevere against the trials of life will be tested in his attempts to guide the manic behavior of these directionless boys. The boys have been unwanted by their parents, the system, and the boys ranch where they currently reside, as they will soon be sent off to the watch of Charlie and the other counselors, where they will yet again become someone elses problem. There is Russ, who displays unpredictable bursts of sadistic violence, Sherman, whose illiteracy is offset by his good cheer, Vince, whose recklessness is matched by his spirit and determination, and seven others. The events in this story are true, though the names have been changed. Wolf Creek is a story of maturation, the strength of the human spirit, the cruelty of humanity, and the power of love and friendship to mend even the most broken of hearts.