Staff Pick
This is a book you can easily devour within a weekend, but one whose characters and story will stay with you long after. It's about a gay teenager living in a hospital after the deaths of his family and moving through his own "Five Stages of Grief" to find himself once again. Though it's marketed as a young adult novel, it certainly has the potential for a much wider audience with its complex storytelling and universal themes such as overcoming heartbreak, finding acceptance, navigating relationships, managing grief, and confronting death, all wrapped up in a coming-of-age love story. In addition, a 32-page graphic novel is cleverly woven into the narrative as a sort of "story within a story," which adds another layer to this novel's overall brilliance. Recommended By Nicholas Y., Powells.com
Synopses & Reviews
A heartbreaking yet uplifting story about a boy who has lost everything but finds new hope drawing in the shadows of a hospital. Features a thirty-two-page graphic novel.
Andrew Brawley was supposed to die that night, just like the rest of his family.
Now he lives in the hospital, serving food in the cafeteria, hanging out with the nurses, sleeping in a forgotten supply closet. Drew blends in to near invisibility, hiding from his past, his guilt, and those who are trying to find him. His only solace is in the world of the superhero he’s created—Patient F.
Then, one night, Rusty is wheeled into the ER, half his body burned by hateful classmates. Rusty’s agony is like a beacon for Drew, pulling them together through all their pain and grief. In Rusty, Drew sees hope, happiness, and a future for both of them. A future outside of the hospital, and away from their painful pasts.
But to save Rusty, Drew will have to confront death, and life might get worse before it gets better. And by telling the truth about who he really is, Drew risks any chance of a future…for both of them.
Review
"Hutchinson builds believable secondary characters and presents unexpectedly fresh plotting and genuine repartee—the conversations among Drew and his two teen friends feel particularly real and are full of insight and humor. Hutchinson remains an author worth watching." Kirkus Reviews
Review
"A wonderfully written book that is more proof that the genre of 'LGBT YA lit' simply knows no bounds." Brent Hartinger, author of Geography Club
Review
"The Five Stages of Andrew Brawley broke my heart, then put it back together again. I truly loved this book." Bruce Coville
About the Author
Shaun David Hutchinson is the author of numerous books for young adults, including The Five Stages of Andrew Brawley, which won the Florida Book Awards’ Gold Medal in the Young Adult category and was named to the ALA’s 2015 Rainbow Book List; the anthology Violent Ends, which received a starred review from VOYA; and We Are the Ants, which received five starred reviews and was named a best book of January 2016 by Amazon.com, Kobo.com, Publishers Weekly, and iBooks. He lives in South Florida with his adorably chubby dog, and enjoys Doctor Who, comic books, and yelling at the TV. Visit him at ShaunDavidHutchinson.com.
Powell's Staff on PowellsBooks.Blog
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