Junk Boy

Bestselling author Tony Abbott’s YA novel-in-verse is an unflinching and heartbreaking look at a boy’s junk-filled life, and the ways he finds redemption and hope, perfect for fans of The Crossover and Long Way Down.

Junk. That’s what the kids at school call Bobby Lang, mostly because his rundown house looks like a junkyard, but also because they want to put him down. Trying desperately to live under the radar at school—and at the home he shares with his angry, neglectful father—Bobby develops a sort of proud loneliness. The only buffer between him and the uncaring world is his love of the long, wooded trail between school and home.

Life grinds along quietly and hopelessly for Bobby until he meets Rachel. Rachel is an artist who sees him in a way no one ever has. Maybe it’s because she has her own kind of junk, and a parent who hates what Rachel is: gay. Together the two embark on journeys to clean up the messes that fill their lives, searching against all odds for hope and redemption.

Narrated in Bobby’s unique voice in arresting free verse, this novel will captivate readers right from its opening lines, urging them on page after page, all the way to its explosive conclusion.

What happens when the only person who truly sees you is the one everyone else refuses to look at?

• A Powerful Novel in Verse: Written in raw, lyrical free verse that captures the authentic voice of a boy who has learned to survive by being quiet.
• An Unforgettable Platonic Friendship: Bobby isn’t looking for a girlfriend, and Rachel already likes girls. What they find is something rarer: a friend who understands the shape of their scars.
• Difficult Family Dynamics: A story that unflinchingly explores the impact of child neglect, poverty, and a parent’s homophobic rage.
• Finding Hope in Art: When Rachel, a gifted artist, draws Bobby, she shows him a version of himself he never thought he could be—not "Junk," but a boy with a story worth telling.