Dress Codes for Small Towns
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5.0 • 1 Rating
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- $11.99
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- $11.99
Publisher Description
A Golden Kite Honor Book of 2018 * A Kirkus Best Book of 2017
“A poetic love letter to the complexities of teenage identity, and the frustrations of growing up in a place where everything fits in a box—except you.”—David Arnold, New York Times bestselling author of Kids of Appetite
"Courtney Stevens firmly reasserts herself as a master storyteller of young adult fiction; crafting stories bursting with humor, heart, and the deepest sort of empathy."—Jeff Zentner, 2017 Morris Award Winner for The Serpent King
"Courtney Stevens carries us into the best kind of mess: deep friendships, small town Southern gossip, unexpected garage art, and unfolding romantic identity."—Jaye Robin Brown, author of Georgia Peaches and Other Forbidden Fruit
As the tomboy daughter of the town’s preacher, Billie McCaffrey has always struggled with fitting the mold of what everyone says she should be. She’d rather wear sweats, build furniture, and get into trouble with her solid group of friends: Woods, Mash, Davey, Fifty, and Janie Lee.
But when Janie Lee confesses to Billie that she’s in love with Woods, Billie’s filled with a nagging sadness as she realizes that she is also in love with Woods…and maybe with Janie Lee, too.
Always considered “one of the guys,” Billie doesn’t want anyone slapping a label on her sexuality before she can understand it herself. So she keeps her conflicting feelings to herself, for fear of ruining the group dynamic.
Except it’s not just about keeping the peace, it’s about understanding love on her terms—this thing that has always been defined as a boy and a girl falling in love and living happily ever after. For Billie—a box-defying dynamo—it’s not that simple.
Readers will be drawn to Billie as she comes to terms with the gray areas of love, gender, and friendship, in this John Hughes-esque exploration of sexual fluidity.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Otters Holt, Ky., is home to the Harvest Festival, a giant "Corn Dolly" statue, and Billie McCaffrey, daughter of the local preacher and a girl no one expects to ever win a (much smaller) Corn Dolly, a cornhusk doll awarded annually to a woman who best exemplifies femininity and grace. The summer before senior year, tomboyish Billie begins to fall for her two best friends, Woods and Janie Lee, just as those same two friends start having feelings for each other. With the Harvest Festival in peril of cancellation, Billie and her five closest pals, aka the Hexagon, rally to save it. Billie's shifting relationships with her friends, father, and small town are poignant, as is her evolving friendship with Hexagon member Davey, who introduces her to a world outside of Otters Holt, where she feels freer to question and explore her sexuality. Small-town hijinks and the true-to-life interconnectedness of the characters bring warmth and humor to Stevens's bighearted contemplation of love, family, and home. Ages 14 up.)
