Stick by Andrew Smith

Stick was another wonderful read by Andrew Smith.  Like everything else I have read by him, I loved it.  Smith provides the reader with another wonderful voice in that of Stark "Stick" McClellan.  He makes you want to root for and rescue Stick and his brother Bosten as they deal with the terrible situation they are stuck in with their abusive parents.  When Bosten finally runs away, we want nothing more than for Stick to find his brother and become whole again.  Smith again gives us a story that is both heartbreaking and hopeful all in one.  Only a couple more books to check off my Andrew Smith list and I will be all caught up.   

From Amazon:

Fourteen-year-old Stark McClellan (nicknamed Stick because he's tall and thin) is bullied for being "deformed" - he was born with only one ear. His older brother Bosten is always there to defend Stick. But the boys can't defend one another from their abusive parents.

When Stick realizes Bosten is gay, he knows that to survive his father's anger, Bosten must leave home. Stick has to find his brother, or he will never feel whole again. In his search, he will encounter good people, bad people, and people who are simply indifferent to kids from the wrong side of the tracks. But he never loses hope of finding love - and his brother.

From Andrew Smith, the Printz-Honor author of Grasshopper Jungle and Winger, this is a powerful young adult novel full of joy, heartbreak, and survival.

An ALA Best Book for Young Adults