Synopsis
Liam Geller is Mr. Popularity. Everybody loves him. He excels at sports; he knows exactly what clothes to wear; he always ends up with the most beautiful girls in school. But he's got an uncanny ability to screw up in the very ways that tick off his father the most.
When Liam finally kicked out of the house, his father's brother takes him in. What could a teenage chick magnet possibly have in common with his gay, glam rocker, DJ uncle who lives in a trailer in upstate New York? A lot more than you'd think. And when Liam attempts to make himself over as a nerd in a desperate attempt to impress his father, it's his "aunt" Pete and the guys in his band who convince Liam there's much more to him than his father will ever see.
The New York Times - Ned Vizzini
Going's writing is smooth and simple…What lasts when the story concludes, however, is Liam. By subverting expectations, Going not only reaches readers who might otherwise pass up a book like hers, she also shows them she understands: their view from the top of the social power structure is not easy, nor is it even all that powerful.