LB Teen

Boy21

By Matthew Quick (Hardcover Book, 2012)

You can lose yourself in repetition-quiet your thoughts; I learned the value of this at a very young age.

Basketball has always been an escape for Finley. He lives in gray, broken Bellmont, a town ruled by the Irish Mob, drugs, violence, and racially charged rivalries. At home, he takes care of his disabled grandfather, and at school he's called "White Rabbit", the only white kid on the varsity basketball team. He's always dreamed of getting out somehow with his girlfriend, Erin. But until then, when he puts on his number 21, everything seems to make sense.

Russ has just moved to the neighborhood. A former teen basketball phenom from a pirvileged home, his life has been turned upside down by tragedy. Cut off from everyone he knows, he now answers only to the name Boy21--his former jersey number--and has an unusual obsession with outer space.

As their final year of high school brings these two boys together, "Boy21" may turn out to be the answer they both need.

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- Format: Hardcover Book
- Price: $17.99 US/$19.99 CAN
- ISBN-13: 9780316127974
- On Sale Date: 03/05/2012
- Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Full Details
Formats Available: Hardcover Book, Trade Paperback, Electronic Book
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Matthew Quick is the author of Sorta Like a Rock Star, which received a starred review in School Library Journal, and was called "a searing story of redemption" by Publishers Weekly, as well as the adult novel The Silver Linings Playbook. He lives in central Massachusetts with his wife, novelist Alicia Bessette. Please visit him on the web at www.matthewquickwriter.com.

BOY21 by Matthew Quick

Praise for Sorta Like a Rock Star:
ALA Best Fiction for Young Adults Selection
* "This book is the answer to all those angst-ridden and painfully grim novels in the shortcut lingo of short attention-span theater. Hugely enjoyable." (School Library Journal, starred review).
"A searing story of redemption." (Publishers Weekly).
"The multidimensionality of [Amber's] character-its bittersweet possibility and utter improbability-will suck readers completely into her world, where they will ride waves of tears through to a world washed clean." (Bulletin for the Center of Children's Books).
"This special book dares us to embrace audacious hope. Amber Appleton is my hero." (Sara Zarr, author of Once Was Lost and National Book Award finalist Story of a Girl).
"This is a must-read, must-quote, must-hug kind of book, the best kind of book there is." (Justina Chen, author of North of Beautiful).