Outwardly, Ray gives off the appearance of being the bad kid from the wrong side of the tracks, but really he is a good kid with crappy parents. Ray takes care of his younger brother most of the time as their father is a drunk and the mother took off shortly after his younger brother was born.
Jon, Ray and Frank become friends by default because they sit at the same table during lunch. But these lunchtime friendships have the making of friendships for life in the small town of Brewster.
This book is basically about the friendships these 3 boys have as well as the friendship they have with Karen who is dating Ray. They are a very close knit group and this closeness is put to the test when the critical event of the book happens and it is up to these kids to fix the problem. I don't want to say what happens, because I don't want to ruin the plot. But it is serious; and these young people end up having to make adult decisions.
I really liked this book because the problems and situations these kids were dealing with seemed like real life and not just something written up in some book.
Rating: 10 / 10
ISBN: 9780393239751
Publisher: W. W. Norton & Co.
Edition: 1st Edition