First published 1993
Buddy Clark has built something remarkable in the shadows of New York City. He runs a network that keeps homeless children alive on the streets. But this semester brings a different challenge. His friend Junior Brown weighs three hundred pounds and struggles with emotional problems that keep getting worse. The two boys have been skipping eighth grade classes together all term. Junior needs protection that goes beyond what Buddy usually provides for the kids in his underground world. As their friendship deepens, Buddy faces a choice between his responsibilities as a leader and his loyalty to one fragile boy. The weight of caring for Junior tests everything Buddy has learned about survival. In a city that discards children like trash, these two unlikely friends discover what it means to truly look after each other.
Genres: family-life, american-fiction, contemporary, adolescence
Vibes: emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: found-family, friendship
Setting: New York City
Period: 20th-century
210 pages · Library Binding · Demco Media
Content warnings: mental-illness