McCord manages to do something few authors are able to do convincingly: get inside the head of a middle-schooler. (Here he has an advantage: He is a middle-school teacher.)The story is narrated by Chris, who, as so many of us do in middle school, tries to negotiate the tricky waters of these transitional years and carve out his niche in his circle of schoolmates, acquaintances and friends. He wants to be a Cool Guy, but he's also still a kid, able to experience childlike joy, wonder, fear... and regret. Through his eyes, and the eyes of Nathan, his neighbor and friend, he sees how the adults that control so much of our world can be loving and supportive - or spiteful and misguided.Nathan is his friend... but not quite. Nathan is weird and geeky, and Chris is reluctant to acknowledge their mutual friendship in the school setting. How many of us have known someone like Nathan - a nerdy sort we're ashamed to be too closely associated with, the butt of all pranks and the target of bullies, yet blessed with amazing talents and a courageous heart?And then there's Hallie Kate, who rides the bus with Chris and Nathan. She loves them both, but unlike Chris, she is unashamed to stand up for Nathan.The first stirrings of adolescent love. The appreciation of a prodigious talent. Making bad choices and regretting them afterwards. Dealing with pain and loss. Discovering the transcendent beauty of nature. McCord captures all of these and more in an insightful first novel that will make you think about the nature of true friendship... a bittersweet (but mostly sweet) memory of what it was like to be young. It's pitched at the Young Adult audience, but it's a book that any adult can enjoy.