Grendel’s Guide to Love and War

Debut author Kaplan uses the epic poem “Beowulf” as inspiration for a clever, heartfelt story about teen angst, memory, and family. Seventeen-year-old Tom Grendel’s life in Masonberg, Va., is far from perfect. His mother died from a stroke when he was nine, and his father returned from Iraq with an untreated case of PTSD. When Tom’s elderly neighbors leave their home to their niece and her two children, Rex and Willow, things get really bad. Kaplan draws loose parallels between the poem and Tom’s growing feud with Rex, who throws a series of raging parties. Finding the late-night keggers unbearable, Tom’s father accepts an assignment hundreds of miles away, and Tom—fearing for his father’s sanity—takes action. The subsequent prank war escalates with the arrival of Rex’s older cousin, Wolf. Kaplan successfully reimagines Grendel in a sympathetic and modestly heroic light, as he fights a giant jerk and wins the heart of a girl with help from a loyal best friend and an older sister who takes charge. Ages 12–up. Agent: Hannah Bowman, Liza Dawson Associates. (Apr.)