As Ever, Gordy

Gordy couldn't be more unhappy about moving back to his hometown of College Hill, where everybody knows his family's troubled history. In North Carolina, Gordy's life had finally seemed to be on the right track. But in College Hill, Gordy and his sister, June, move into a cramped apartment with their brother Stu and his new family. The principal at Gordy's school immediately has it in for him, his old pals encourage him to cause trouble, and his one-time nemesis, Elizabeth, hates him more than ever. It seems to Gordy as though the whole world is against him. Will he slip back into his old trouble-making ways for good, or will he be able to keep growing into the successful person he was striving to become?

• A Classic Coming-of-Age Story: Thirteen-year-old Gordy is caught between the boy he was and the man he’s trying to become, all while navigating a town that only remembers his mistakes.
• A Heartfelt Sibling Story: After losing their grandmother, Gordy and his younger sister June must learn to live in a cramped apartment with their older brother Stu and his new family.
• The Struggle to Fit In: With the school principal against him and old friends pushing him toward trouble, Gordy has to decide who his real friends are.
• Enemies to Friends Trope: His old nemesis, Elizabeth, seems to hate him more than ever. But in a town where everyone is against him, she might be the one person who actually understands.

"Hahn expertly shows how the expectations of others influence Gordy's behavior, as he struggles to step away from his bad old self; in the end he takes that step, though not without a realistic amount of backsliding….While Gordy's anger is the dominant feeling here, flashes of humor and deftly inserted historical details of the postWW II era lighten the load."--Kirkus Reviews