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Correct But Wish to Explain
Paperback
General FictionLiterary Fiction
Publisher Price: $19.99
Publisher: Grant Hall Media
Published: Nov 14 2025
Pages: 374
Weight: 1.10
Height: 0.83 Width: 6.00 Depth: 9.00
Language: English
Ethan Cole doesn't mean to start trouble-he just won't back down. After a childhood of cold showers, hot tempers, and a father who celebrates the wrong things, Ethan follows his best friend Jack to Southern Military Institute, a place that breaks boys down and rebuilds them in its image.
Rat year is a gauntlet: shaved heads, sweat parties, and a Walkman punishment that turns Ethan's favorite music into a daily penance. Jack thrives; Ethan survives-until a forced march nearly kills him and a mud-slick Breakout leaves him alone at the bottom of the hill. When money runs out, the Army fills the gap, and a clandestine detour to a Jimmy Buffett concert reminds Ethan who he is beneath the uniform.
Back at SMI, Jack is ascendant, Ethan is out of step, and the rules bend for the powerful. With grades sinking and loyalty tested, Ethan makes one last choice no one sees coming-signing one hundred fifty-four 'Specials' that burn his name into the Corps' memory. He leaves not defeated, but decided.
Set across locker rooms, barracks stoops, back roads, and bar booths, CORRECT BUT WISH TO EXPLAIN is a tough, tender story about the cost of belonging, the shape of courage, and the moment a young man stops playing someone else's game.
Praise for Correct But Wish to Explain
★★★★★ Powerful coming-of-age story. - Rabia Tanveer, Readers' Favorite
★★★★★ A gripping journey filled with unexpected twists... thought-provoking and emotionally resonant. - Frank Mutuma, Readers' Favorite
★★★★★ Heartfelt and courageous. - Alma Boucher, Readers' Favorite
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