Lying, Stealing, and Other Ways to Save the Planet

Campbell (Dragging Mason County) adds laughs via acerbic wit and rambunctious crudity throughout this unconventional heist novel. Gay 16-year-old John O’Neil believes he found the story that will catapult him into journalistic stardom: he intends to write an exposé on the hazing rituals of the Mason Musketeers soccer team, captained by Lance McPhee, heir apparent to the Oakland Golf and Country Club. He even compiles enough additional information to ruin the reputations of the entire team. But his best friend and fellow reporter Rachel Miller—who describes herself as “dyke light”—objects to John’s methods; just as he’s arranging to set his plans into motion, Rachel deletes his evidence. His longing for revenge against the McPhees escalates as they prepare to develop a spa on the bird conservation area that John’s beloved grandparents protested to save decades before, compelling him to ally with the high school birding club to destroy the McPhees at any cost. John’s journalistic motivations are murky and the McPhees read like cardboard cut-out villains. His snarky first-person narration is occasionally broken up by instances of the teen exhibiting his softer side, particularly in tender scenes involving his grandparents. The cast is intersectionally diverse. Ages 14–up. (May)