Where We Belong

Some friendships define your childhood. Others define your life.

Before life became complicated, there was summer. There was friendship. There was forever.

They promised each other forever. They had no idea what forever would ask of them.

When fearless, larger-than-life Jordan Hayes declares himself the "King of the Slide" and pulls quiet, cautious Matthew Miller into his orbit, an unforgettable friendship begins. Together they spend endless summers building crooked forts hidden in the woods, racing battered bikes down impossible hills, playing street hockey until sunset, and creating a world that belongs only to them. Bound by laughter, adventure, and a simple pinky promise to be best friends forever, they believe nothing could ever come between them.

But growing up has a way of testing even the strongest promises.

As carefree summers give way to the uncertainty of adolescence, Matthew and Jordan find themselves navigating first crushes, family expectations, neighborhood rivalries, changing friendships, and the quiet realization that growing up is far more complicated than either of them imagined. The bond that once seemed unbreakable begins to strain beneath the weight of time, change, and unspoken truths.

For Matthew, those changes become impossible to ignore. The boy who has always been his best friend begins to mean something more, leaving him caught between loyalty, fear, and emotions he cannot yet understand. As childhood slowly slips away, he must decide whether protecting the friendship that has defined his life is worth hiding the truth about himself or risking everything for the chance to finally be seen.

Spanning the unforgettable years between childhood and adolescence, Where We Belong is a deeply moving coming-of-age novel about friendship, identity, first love, and the promises that continue to shape us long after we've grown up. It is a celebration of the people who become our home, the summers we never forget, and the memories that stay with us forever.

Will their promise of "forever" be enough to carry them through the hardest challenges of their lives?