Synopses & Reviews
Both a pageturning mystery and a one-of-a-kind celebration of human individuality, The Every Boy is the story of Henry Every's life and perplexing death at fifteen years of age. Harlan Every finds his son's diary and pores over the secret thoughts in an attempt to connect with the boy he never reallyknew—and to figure out how he died.
Review
"Henry's mid-novel trip to New York cements the inevitable Holden Caufield parallel, but given Shapiro's coporeal take on youthful alienation, Gregor Samsa might be just as relevant."
Review
"A magical, haunting, hilarious debut." --Amy Sedaris
Review
"Remarkably buoyant and witty...[and] unsentimentally perceptive and optimistic about the oddness and difficulty and even, sometimes, the joy of being a human among humans." --Matthew Sharpe, author of The Sleeping Father
Review
"A sweet, melancholy first novel...so many young writers have been described as Salingeresque that it's a shock to come across one who actually fits the bill." --Tom Perotta, author of Little Children
"A terrific writer with an unerring sense of how confusing it is to be 15 years old." The New York Times Book Review
"A magical, haunting, hilarious debut." --Amy Sedaris
"Anything but ordinary...You could black out every other paragraph in The Every Boy and it would still outcharm Catcher in the Rye." TimeOut New York
"Perversely funny." The New York Daily News
"Henry's mid-novel trip to New York cements the inevitable Holden Caufield parallel, but given Shapiro's coporeal take on youthful alienation, Gregor Samsa might be just as relevant." The Village Voice
"Full of charm and eccentricity." The Arizona Republic
"True to his surname, Henry's confessions record his conflicted progress through the stations of adolescence, the agonies all young people suffer as they struggle with Big Issues of growing up: how to fit in without relinquishing the right to be different, how to know whom to trust and whom to love, how to forgive our parents for the unforgiveable things they do to us." Boston Globe
"Remarkably buoyant and witty...[and] unsentimentally perceptive and optimistic about the oddness and difficulty and even, sometimes, the joy of being a human among humans." --Matthew Sharpe, author of The Sleeping Father
Synopsis
In this addictive and highly original debut novel a fifteen-year-old boy dies mysteriously, leaving behind a secret ledger filled with his darkly comic confessions. Whether fantasizing about being a minority, breaking into his neighbors' homes, or gunning down an exotic bird, Henry Every's wayward quest for betterment sometimes bordered on the criminal. Alone now in their suburban house, his father pores over the ledger in a final attempt to connect with the boy he never really knew--and, more urgently, to figure out how he died. As Harlan Every learns the truth about his son's many misadventures and transgressions, he also discovers the part he unwittingly played in Henry's tragic death and the real reason his wife walked out years ago. The story grows into two parallel love stories--one past, one present--with drastically different outcomes.
Witty and wise, The Every Boy is a page-turning mystery, a love story, an exploration of what it means to be a family, and a one-of-a kind celebration of human individuality.
Synopsis
When fifteen-year-old Henry Every washes up on shore, the only clues to his shocking death are those he leaves behind in a secret ledger that someone mysteriously leaves on his parents' doorstep. Crammed full of his darkly comic confessions, the pages detail Henry's myriad misadventures on his wayward quest for self-betterment: acts of petty crime with his best friend, Jorden, a romantic obsession with the elusive Benna, and a prickly relationship with a lethal jellyfish. Quietly wise and laugh-out-loud funny, The Every Boy proves there's hope in the darkest places -- you just have to know where to look.
About the Author
Dana Adam Shapiro produced and co-directed MURDERBALL, the Academy Award nominated documentary about quadriplegic rugby players. Shapiro is a founder of ICON Magazine, a former senior editor at SPIN, and a contributor to the NEW YORK TIMES MAGAZINE and other publications. With Plan B Entertainment, he is set to write and direct a movie based on his first novel, THE EVERY BOY.