It’s true: After 17-year-old Ben’s father announces he’s gay and the family splits apart, Ben does everything he can to tick him off: skip school, smoke pot, skateboard nonstop, get arrested. But he never thinks he’ll end up yanked out of his city life and plunked down into a small Montana town with his dad and Edward, The Boyfriend. As if it’s not painful enough living in a hick town with spiked hair, a skateboard habit, and two dads, he soon realizes something’s not quite right with Billy, the boy next door. He’s hiding a secret about his family, and Ben is determined to uncover it and set things right. In an authentic, unaffected, and mordantly funny voice, Michael Harmon tells the wrenching story of an uprooted and uncomfortable teenaged guy trying to fix the lives around him–while figuring out his own.
MICHAEL HARMON was born in Los Angeles and now lives in the Pacific Northwest. He dropped out of high school as a senior and draws on many of his own experiences in his award-winning fiction for young adults. You can visit him on the Web at BooksbyHarmon.com
View titles by Michael Harmon
WINNER ALA Best Books for Young Adults
WINNER ALA Rainbow Project Bibliography
NOMINEE Maryland Black-Eyed Susan Award
Starred Review, Publishers Weekly, February 18, 2008: "Because [Harmon's] take on people is convincing, audiences will want to believe in his story, too."
Starred Review, School Library Journal, April 2008: "It is filled with atypical character interactions that make it an excellent read."
It’s true: After 17-year-old Ben’s father announces he’s gay and the family splits apart, Ben does everything he can to tick him off: skip school, smoke pot, skateboard nonstop, get arrested. But he never thinks he’ll end up yanked out of his city life and plunked down into a small Montana town with his dad and Edward, The Boyfriend. As if it’s not painful enough living in a hick town with spiked hair, a skateboard habit, and two dads, he soon realizes something’s not quite right with Billy, the boy next door. He’s hiding a secret about his family, and Ben is determined to uncover it and set things right. In an authentic, unaffected, and mordantly funny voice, Michael Harmon tells the wrenching story of an uprooted and uncomfortable teenaged guy trying to fix the lives around him–while figuring out his own.
Author
MICHAEL HARMON was born in Los Angeles and now lives in the Pacific Northwest. He dropped out of high school as a senior and draws on many of his own experiences in his award-winning fiction for young adults. You can visit him on the Web at BooksbyHarmon.com
View titles by Michael Harmon
Awards
WINNER ALA Best Books for Young Adults
WINNER ALA Rainbow Project Bibliography
NOMINEE Maryland Black-Eyed Susan Award
Praise
Starred Review, Publishers Weekly, February 18, 2008: "Because [Harmon's] take on people is convincing, audiences will want to believe in his story, too."
Starred Review, School Library Journal, April 2008: "It is filled with atypical character interactions that make it an excellent read."
