"Meet Hank Collins, an astute, gutsy, and funny 13-year-old who's just
finished the seventh grade at a public school in Baltimore's affluent
suburbs. But all is not trouble-free for Hank. He must contend with a
troubled family, an alien school, and a world otherwise booby-trapped
with alluring but perilous possibilities.Hank is a page-turning,
contemporary, coming-of-age story of growing up amidst this wreckage of
a dangerous and suspenseful summer. From him, we hear the events of his
life. We stand by him on the baseball field and at the dinner tables of
his remarried parents. We walk with him into an epic, appalling, yet
believable teenage party. We share with him an astounding encounter with
adult weekend warriors. We see not just his confusions and dismays, but
his grit, his honesty, and his vulnerability. We like him, and root for
him, and care about him.Through a raw, real, and rewarding storyline,
recounted with an understated elegance, and dialogue that is witty and
captivating, we watch as he manages to evolve into a courageous,
undaunted human being.As The Harvard Crimson observes, Hank is so
authentic that one sometimes feels the need to check for that standard
disclaimer reminding us that these characters are only fictitious. Hank
bursts from the pages, vibrant and flawed. We feel his pain, share his
sorrows, and rejoice in his triumphs.There is no holding back here,
notes Pulitzer-Prize-winning writer Buzz Bissinger. There is no
political correctness. The world that Hank sees and tells us about--a
world fraught with pitfalls, potholes, protagonists, antagonists,
decency, and deceit--is the world of the American pre-adolescent.Author
Arch Montgomery never shies away from important issues, adds The Harvard
Crimson, and never takes the easy way out in dealing with them. With a
few deft strokes, he manages to compress every in-between shade of gray
into the dialogue and actions of his characters. Like the state of the
world it reflects, good and evil are not always so clear-cut. Part of
Hank's journey of growth entails understanding and dealing with that
realization.No wonder The Harvard Crimson concludes: ""Few novels have
succeeded in capturing the essence of adolescence, but the likes of Tom
Sawyer and Holden Caulfield are about to welcome the newest member to
their ranks a 13-year-old boy named Hank... Arch Montgomery, impressive
in an incandescent debut, shows a mastery of his craft and an unusually
perceptive insight into the human heart."""
