What They Always Tell Us

JAMES AND ALEX have barely anything in common anymore—least of all their experiences in high school, where James is a popular senior and Alex is suddenly an outcast. But at home, there is Henry, the precocious 10-year-old across the street, who eagerly befriends them both. And when Alex takes up running, there is James’s friend Nathen, who unites the brothers in moving and unexpected ways.“Martin Wilson’s What They Always Tell Us hears the voices of the young as they struggle toward adulthood. . . .”
—Richard Peck, Newbery Award–winning author

“In his beautifully realized first novel, Martin Wilson demonstrates a wonderful gift for finding the truth in human caring and for creating memorably multidimensional and engagingly sympathetic characters whom readers will welcome into their hearts.”
—Michael Cart, former president of the ALA’s Young Adult Library Services Association and the Assembly on Literature for Adolescents

Starred Review, Publishers Weekly, July 28, 2008:
“Insightfully evoked, Alex, James and their friends will leave a lasting impression on readers.”

Starred Review, Booklist, November 15, 2008:
“This is a strong debut, and Wilson shows admirable control of a complicated story that in less-accomplished hands could have spun out of control.”Martin Wilson received a BA from Vanderbilt University, and an MFA from the University of Florida, where one of his short stories won a Henfield Award. This is his first novel. He lives in New York City