Riley Park by Diane Tullson 

Here’s another super-quick Orca Soundings novel that I liked:

Corbin and his best friend Darius are both attracted to the same girl, Rubee, who works at the local Safeway grocery store as a checker. But after Rubee appears to have broken up with her boyfriend, Corbin hesitates to ask Rubee out. So Darius does, making Corbin jealous and angry. Still, they are friends and Corbin loves the way Darius is a risk-taker. He gets Corbin to go along with jumping off a high cliff into the local river. It’s times like this when Corbin feels most alive.

After the jump is over, the two guys argue about Rubee, who has come to the outdoor party near the river to see Darius. Later, when the crowd is gone and just Darius and Corbin are left, they are savagely attacked by three guys with a tire iron. In the hospital before Corbin passes out, he hears Darius’s heart monitor become quiet and flat line. He awakes to brain damage and the question of who attacked the two friends—and why?

This story is an interesting look at what is worth fighting for and what has to be let go.