Looking for Group
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- $7.99
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- $7.99
Publisher Description
One of TeenVogue.com's 10 Best Queer Books to Check Out: “Looking for Group is a road trip book that ends with a punch to the gut. Warning: this is a book that will make you cry.”
Rory Harrison’s beautiful novel about identity, home, and fresh starts recounts one boy’s quest to discover a world where he can thrive, one adventure at a time.
Dylan doesn’t have a lot of experience with comfort. His room in the falling-down Village Estates can generously be categorized as squalid, and he sure isn’t getting any love from his mother, who seemed to—no, definitely did—enjoy the perks that went along with being the parent of a “cancer kid.”
His only escape has been in the form of his favorite video game—World of Warcraft—and the one true friend who makes him feel understood, even if it is just online: Arden. And now that Dylan is suddenly in remission, he wants to take Arden on a real mission, one he never thought he’d live to set out on: a journey to a mysterious ship in the middle of the Salton Sea.
But Arden is fighting her own battles, ones that Dylan can’t always help her win. As they navigate their way west, they grapple with Arden's father (who refuses to recognize his daughter’s true gender), Dylan’s addiction, and the messy, complicated romance fighting so hard to blossom through the cracks of their battle-hardened hearts.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Dylan was terminally ill with cancer, then miraculously went into remission. During years spent indoors and in hospitals, Dylan's life largely revolved around playing World of Warcraft, where he met and befriended a gamer named Arden, who was born David but now lives as a girl. Sixteen years old and facing a future he never expected to have, Dylan shows up at Arden's house unannounced. Arden is happy to see Dylan, who's gay, and the two embark on a road trip, finding more than a few hurdles while en route to California. Dylan narrates in a clipped, introspective voice as he and Arden swap stories, get their car stolen, and sell Dylan's leftover cancer drugs in order to keep the road trip going. Debut author Harrison takes on several substantial topics, including the aftermath of disease, prescription pill abuse, gender identity, and sexuality. The characters' conflicts gracefully counterbalance their growing intimacy as they move toward a destination that is less significant than the journey itself. Ages 13 up.