Part memoir, part love song, and part tale about overcoming the odds, this is not a cancer story but an account of a teenager's life becoming derailed and the one thing that helped him pull it back together: music. Punk's not dead in rural West Virginia. In this blistering literary debut, it screams from the basement of Rob and Nat Rufus--identical twin brothers with spiked hair, black leather jackets, and the most kick-ass record collection in Appalachia. To them, school (and pretty much everything else) sucks. But what can you expect when you're the only punks in town? When the brothers start their own band, their lives begin to change: they meet friends, attract girls, and get invited to join a national tour and escape their rat-box little town. But their plans are cut short when Rob is diagnosed with a rare form of cancer that has already progressed to an advanced stage. Not only are his dreams of punk rock stardom completely shredded, but there is a very real threat that this is one battle that can't be won. While Rob suffers through nightmarish treatments and debilitating surgery, Nat continues on their band's road to success alone. But as Rob's life diverges from his brother's, he learns to find strength with himself and through his music. Die Young with Me is an intimate account of teen angst, the unique bond of identical twins, and music's ability to get us through the darkest of days.

Unknown road -- My basement life -- Everyone you'll never know -- Shitsville, USA -- Parked cars -- The outline of a heart -- Kids today -- The days just get away from you -- Dead boys -- Die young with me -- Half in/half out -- Staggered rays of color and light -- A/S/L -- Cheap thrills -- Pity tucks -- A sense of an ending -- Skeleton crew -- This nightmare place -- The summer that was -- Prodigal son/weeping saint -- Skin-deep -- The blackest black -- Symptoms of me -- The imprints of angels -- Out of time -- Miracle child.