Black+Eyed+Susan+Book+Club

We will be discussing //The Last Exit to Normal// by Michael Harmon.
It’s true: After 17-year-old Ben’s father announces he’s gay and the family splits apart, Ben does everything he can to tick him off: skip school, smoke pot, skateboard nonstop, get arrested. But he never thinks he’ll end up yanked out of his city life and plunked down into a small Montana town with his dad and Edward, The Boyfriend. As if it’s not painful enough living in a hick town with spiked hair, a skateboard habit, and two dads, he soon realizes something’s not quite right with Billy, the boy next door. He’s hiding a secret about his family, and Ben is determined to uncover it and set things right. In an authentic, unaffected, and mordantly funny voice, Michael Harmon tells the wrenching story of an uprooted and uncomfortable teenaged guy trying to fix the lives around him–while figuring out his own.

Background Information
The award is supported by the Maryland Association of School Librarians and is given annually to one book in each of 4 categories: Picture Book, Grades 4-6, Grades 6-9, High School. The unique aspect of the Black Eyed Susan Award is that even though the nominees are named by librarians and teachers throughout the state, the winners are chosen by the students themselves. For a complete list of titles in all categories, visit [|MASL.]

May //Notes from the Midnight Driver// by Jordan Sonnenblick
All the books will be available at the MHHS Media Center as well as at the Information Desk of the Miller Branch of the HCPL.