The First Stone is a 2003 young adult novel that tells the stories of Chad Kennedy—known as Reef—and Elizabeth Hemming, who goes by Leeza. They are two teenagers from different backgrounds who are grieving recent losses. Reef was close with his grandmother, who recently passed away. Leeza lost her older sister to cancer six months before the start of the novel. Aker uses the colliding stories of Reef and Leeza to examine themes of Justice and Morality, Redemption and Forgiveness, and Consequences and Rehabilitation.

Content Warning: The First Stone contains anti-gay slurs, derogatory descriptions of women, and references to suicidal ideation and suicide attempts. It also features several characters with severe anti-social tendencies.

Plot Summary

When the novel begins, Reef is an angry teenager who prides himself on being fearless, living in the moment, and indulging his appetites for drugs, alcohol, and vandalism, and he spends most of his time with others like him. When he and his two friends—Bigger and Jink—learn that a beloved party spot called The Pit is slated for demolition, they’re furious. They vandalize the truck of the men who come to take measurements. One of them chases Reef, but he gets away and goes to an overpass. He thinks he is unobserved when he throws a rock into oncoming traffic below, but the worker followed him and watches.

Leeza is driving because it helps her relax. She is near the overpass when the rock thrown by Reef goes through her windshield. The ensuing movement of her Subaru creates a chain reaction of collisions. Three weeks later, she wakes from a coma in the hospital with a broken arm, two broken ribs, a dislocated pelvis, a severe concussion, and more.

Reef is unrepentant during his trial hearing. He receives an unexpected gift from the judge, although he doesn’t see it that way. Judge Thomas does not believe in punishment for youths. Instead, she wants Reef to see the consequences of his actions and feel what others may feel when people like him hurt them. She sentences him to a year in a home where he will work, perform community service at a rehabilitation center, attend a new high school, and give presentations about his experience.

Leeza’s parents are horrified by the decision. Her mother, in particular, sees it as Reef getting away without punishment. When Leeza comes out of rehab, her early days are agony. She can’t move without horrible pain, and her constant need for morphine makes her groggy and hazy. Her roommate, a woman named Brett Turner, is a cheerful, inspiring helper.

However, their lives change when Reef arrives at the facility for his community service. He and Leeza bond quickly, and he can’t stop thinking about her. Her healing accelerates, as does his.

Reef settles in at the home and becomes friendly with the group. He even bonds with Alex, a gay man he initially hates. When his friends visit, they’re impressed at how well he is doing. Soon, however, there is bad news. Jink is cited for disturbing the peace and underage drinking at Rowdy’s bar. This means Rowdy could lose his liquor license, but it also draws police attention to his bar, which is a front for other illegal activities. Rowdy beats Jink badly.

Reef wants revenge but decides not to pursue it after he visits Jink in the hospital. As he looks at his broken body, he realizes he did the same thing to the girl in the Subaru. He decides that he wants to improve his life. He calls Frank to come get him, and Frank is proud of him for refusing to give in to his anger. He speaks with Alex about his feelings, and Alex reveals that he tried to kill himself once on a night when his father called him anti-gay slurs.

As Reef and Leeza continue to bond, he believes he might be falling in love with her. However, when he finally meets Leeza’s mother in Leeza’s hospital room, she calls him an animal and tells Leeza that he put her there. Reef returns to the home and tells the group his story.

The story jumps forward to the novel’s final act. Reef gives presentations at schools, continuing even after he has filled his mandatory requirements. He also becomes the star of his school’s volleyball team. Students at his presentations inevitably ask if he ever saw Leeza again after meeting her mother. His answer is always the same: yes and no. He hopes she might see him in the newspaper for volleyball. Regardless, he is at peace with himself and no longer blames others for his actions.

Leeza’s final chapter reveals what happened when he came to apologize. He wasn’t defensive, but he did try to explain that he is no longer the person who threw the stone. Brett tells Leeza that she spoke with Alex, who filled in many of the most heartbreaking details about Reef’s upbringing for her. Brett has learned that Reef’s deaf mother died in childbirth and that his grandfather blamed him for it. Brett encourages Leeza to believe that people can change. She repeats this sentiment after she marries her boyfriend and sends Leeza a package of photos from their honeymoon. However, Leeza’s mother has already filed a restraining order against Reef. Leeza wants to contact him but can’t make herself do it.

In the novel’s final scene, Reef reveals that he has a new stone. He finds it on a beach and begins taking it to presentations. He realizes it’s the first stone he hasn’t thrown in anger since his grandmother died.