Book: The New Kid

Author: Eliot Schrefer

Review: This book was okay.  It starts out with one of the main characters Humphrey.  An awkward teenager, who has moved with his parents to Florida.  They are not doing so well, and are living in a motel.  Humphrey is trying to fit in to his new school and makes friends with Wade.  Wade is not allowed to see his mom Brandy.  But Humphrey and Wade start hanging out there anyway.  Humphrey gets himself into a bad situation ny doing this.  The book is a reminder that most people are messed up.  The next part of the story focuses on Gretchen.  She is Humphrey's half sister, but moved away from her mother as soon as possible.  She is supposed to be the successful one, but she is desperatley chasing her ex, and ends up going to Europe to meet with his parents, without him knowing about it.  The boyfriends parents were supposed to be the perfect couple, but she quickly finds out this is not so.

Basically this book is another example of how you don't know what people are really like outside of the context that you meet them in.