Summary
Lawrence Barry is one screw up away from expulsion. An appeal from his guidance counselor and a scathing letter from his lawyer father are the only things that kept it from happening already. So Lawrence agrees to an act of community service to cement his “commitment” to getting clean and staying out of trouble – mentoring an exchange student.
Spencer Knudsen is a freshman from Norway who seems destined for bullying and humiliation. He’s too smart, dresses too formally, and has awkward social skills. Lawrence is determined to help Spencer survive high school.
But Lawrence finds himself in a pile of trouble during Homecoming, including being framed for things that could send him to military school. And – surprise, surprise – Spencer may turn out to be exactly the friend, and the help, Lawrence needs.
Review
This was fun! I liked Lawrence, even though he had a habit of wanting to fix everyone to be what he thought they should be. The sobriety part of his story was unexpected, but I liked it. I also enjoyed Spencer and Eddie and Audrey. There’s a quirkiness to the cast here that was delightful!
Lawrence has a lot going on – his partying and sobriety, his relationship with his parents, figuring out his identity at school if he’s not going to party anymore, his “fixing” tendencies, and also being framed for all the trouble at school. There’s a nice balance here between Lawrence’s story and the school story. And I liked both parts equally.
Be sure to check this one out if you enjoy light mysteries (like who is framing Lawrence at school), friendship stories (like the relationship between Lawrence and Spencer), or school stories (like this one centered around Homecoming activities). There’s a lot here to enjoy! (Language, drug use and drinking, recovery)
Rating: ♥♥♥½*
*♥♥♥½ = Good+