Dead Ends
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- $7.99
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- $7.99
Publisher Description
A riddle rarely makes sense the first time you hear it. The connection between Dane, a bully, and Billy D, a guy with Down Syndrome, doesn't even make sense the second time you hear it. But it's a collection of riddles that solidify their unlikely friendship.
Dane doesn't know who his dad is. Billy doesn't know where his dad is. So when Billy asks for Dane's help solving the riddles his dad left in an atlas, Dane can't help but agree. The unmarked towns lead them closer to secrets of the past. But there's one secret Billy isn't sharing. It's a secret Dane might have liked to know before he stole his mom's car and her lottery winnings and set off on a road trip that will put him face to face with Billy's dad.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Lange (Butter) explores the friendship that forms between a rage-filled 16-year-old named Dane and his new neighbor, Billy D., who has Down syndrome. Although Dane is a bully, he draws the line at picking on the disabled ("Standards, y'know?"), and when he's offered a chance to avoid suspension by helping Billy out, he accepts it reluctantly. The boys bond over their missing fathers Dane doesn't know who his is, and Billy's mother kicked his father out and moved across the country and decide, with help from neighborhood skate punk Seely, to track down Billy's father. Their investigation leads to road trips and revelations about their pasts. With confident storytelling, Lange ably develops Dane's romance with Seely and his friendship with Billy, but a few details sour the story a bit. A subplot in which Dane's working-class mother regularly wins the lottery (but refuses to cash her tickets) shouts of middle-class privilege; worse, Billy essentially exists to give Dane the epiphany he needs. The core story should keep readers interested if they can overlook those problems. Ages 14 up.