First published 2018
Mason Buttle towers over his classmates and sweats constantly. He struggles to read and write, which makes school hard enough before you add in the whispers. Fifteen months back, his best friend Benny Kilmartin died in Mason's family orchard. Lieutenant Baird keeps asking Mason the same questions about that day, but Mason tells the truth and the officer won't listen. Mason finds friendship with Calvin Chumsky, a small kid who also gets picked on by the neighborhood bullies. Together they build a secret underground hideout where they can escape the cruelty. Then Calvin disappears. Mason faces suspicion again as adults wonder if he hurt another friend. He knows he has to discover what really happened to Calvin and to Benny. The answers connect in ways Mason never expected. His learning differences make communication difficult, but Mason's honesty and loyalty drive him to protect the people he cares about, even when the world seems set against him.
Genres: fiction, coming-of-age, mystery, contemporary
Vibes: emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: found-family, unreliable-narrator
Setting: Orchard
Period: Fifteen Months Ago
352 pages · ebook · Katherine Tegen Books
Content warnings: ableism