About a Boy
by Nick Hornby
Nonfiction · ages 14–18 · grades 9–12 · 1040L · 467 pages · 2001
Why we'd hand it over
Cynical, wickedly smart, and genuinely about adulthood arriving whether you want it or not — Will's learning that other people's suffering (especially a lonely kid's) matters more than his own coolness is the real plot.