The New Kid
A Novel
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- $19.99
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- $19.99
Publisher Description
At fifteen years old, Humphrey has spent his life as the new kid, moving from town to town as his parents keep losing jobs. The latest move brings him to Haven, Florida, where his family rents a motel room for lack of money. Humphrey gradually makes his way into a circle of the local cool kids, but when his friendship with one handsome boy and the boy's mother leads to illicit and confusing sexual attractions, he begins to question the nature of his own desires, with perilous consequences.
Humphrey's half-sister Gretchen escaped the family's itinerant lifestyle long ago, and is now graduating from Harvard College and pining for a Harvard boy who broke her heart. When fate offers Gretchen a chance to go abroad, both brother and sister find themselves with the opportunity to leave their problems behind and travel to Italy. But the siblings' Roman holiday takes a sinister turn when what was supposed to be a glamorous jaunt has fateful consequences.
The New Kid is an account of love, family, sexual awakening, and the peculiarly dangerous twists life can take -- a deftly written novel from the acclaimed author of Glamorous Disasters.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Schrefer weds fluid prose to a trashy/sexy plot in his fun second novel, revisiting the corrupting world of the rich (his debut, Glamorous Disasters, featured an SAT tutor caught up in the dirty doings of his wealthy clients). Fifteen-year-old Humphrey Baxter, recently relocated with his down-on-their-luck parents to Florida, has trouble adjusting to his new digs (a motel), and though initially Humphrey's narration strikes a familiar YA tone, Schrefer throws in a welcome wrinkle with two bizarre friendships (with a jock and the jock's hot mom) that lead to Humphrey being savagely beaten. With Humphrey hospitalized, Schrefer cuts to Humphrey's half-sister, Gretchen, who has found love with Rajan Lansing and surrogate parents in Rajan's wealthy folks, Gita and Joel. After Rajan dumps her, Gretchen follows Gita and Joel to Rome to get Rajan back. During the luxurious, curiously intimate summer, Gretchen hears of Humphrey's troubles and the Lansings enthusiastically invite Humphrey to join them. The Lansings handle all expenses, but there is a price to pay as the two Baxters become disturbingly (and not entirely unwillingly) entangled with philandering Joel and increasingly unstable Gita. Aside from the Hollywood thriller ending, the combination of smart writing and a decadent world make for a genuine if guilty pleasure.
