A Michael L. Printz Honor BookTroy Billings is seventeen, 296 pounds, friendless, utterly miserable, and about to step off a New York subway platform in front of an oncoming train. Until he meets Curt MacCrae, an emaciated, semi-homeless, high school dropout guitar genius, the stuff of which Lower East Side punk rock legends are made. Never mind that Troy’s dad thinks Curt’s a drug addict and Troy’s brother thinks Troy’s the biggest (literally) loser in Manhattan. Soon, Curt’s recruited Troy as his new drummer—even though Troy can’t play the drums. Together, Curt and Troy will change the world of punk, and Troy’s own life, forever.
"Troy's voice is candid, irreverent, realistic and humorous. [A] wonderful, engrossing tale."—
SLJAn ALA BBYA
A BCCB Blue Ribbon Book
A Booklist Editors' Choice
An SLJ Best Book of the Year
A Miami Herald Best Book of the Year
K. L. Going lives with her family in the Hudson Valley area of New York State. Since graduating from college she has worked as an adult literacy tutor, a ticket agent for a major airline, a front desk clerk at a resort hotel, and an assistant in a Manhattan literary agency. She has lived in Maine, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Louisiana and New York. K.L. is the author of many books, including
Fat Kid Rules The World,
The Liberation of Gabriel King, and
Dog in Charge. Her first novel,
Fat Kid Rules the World, was a YALSA Michael L. Printz honor book.
"Troy's voice is candid, irreverent, realistic and humorous. [A] wonderful, engrossing tale."—
SLJ
