The Downside of Being Charlie

Senior year isn't shaping up the way Charlie hoped despite losing weight over the summer, he's still teased as "Chunks," his dad refuses to discuss his missing mother, and he's stuck sharing a locker with a die-hard Lord of the Rings fan. To make matters worse, he can't tell if the new girl, Charlotte VanderKleaton, feels the same way about him as he does about her. Amid the chaos, Charlie finds solace in a single talent that might be his way out of the town and the life he feels trapped in. The novel follows his attempts to navigate family secrets, teenage insecurities, and the hope of carving a different future for himself.