The Boy in the Black Suit

Publisher Marketing: Just when seventeen-year-old Matt thinks he can't handle one more piece of terrible news, he meets a girl who's dealt with a lot more--and who just might be able to clue him in on how to rise up when life keeps knocking him down--in this wry, gritty novel from the author of "When I Was the Greatest." Matt wears a black suit every day. No, not because his mom died--although she did, and it sucks. But he wears the suit for his gig at the local funeral home, which pays way better than the Cluck Bucket, and he needs the income since his dad can't handle the bills (or anything, really) on his own. So while Dad's snagging bottles of whiskey, Matt's snagging fifteen bucks an hour. Not bad. But everything else? Not good. Then Matt meets Lovey. She's got a crazy name, and she's been through more crazy than he can imagine. Yet Lovey never cries. She's tough. Really tough. Tough in the way Matt wishes he could be. Which is maybe why he's drawn to her, and definitely why he can't seem to shake her. Because there's nothing more hopeful than finding a person who understands your loneliness--and who can maybe even help take it away. Review Citations: School Library Journal 10/01/2014 pg. 122 (EAN 9781442459502, Hardcover) Kirkus Reviews 10/15/2014 (EAN 9781442459502, Hardcover) Publishers Weekly 11/03/2014 (EAN 9781442459502, Hardcover) Voice of Youth Advocates 02/01/2015 (EAN 9781442459502, Hardcover) Booklist 02/01/2015 pg. 44 (EAN 9781442459502, Hardcover) Bulletin of Ctr for Child Bks 01/01/2015 (EAN 9781442459502, Hardcover) Horn Book Magazine 03/01/2015 pg. 109 (EAN 9781442459502, Hardcover) Bulletin of Ctr for Child Bks 02/01/2015 pg. 327 (EAN 9781442459502, Hardcover) - *Starred Review Contributor Bio:  Reynolds, Jason Jason Reynolds is crazy. About stories. After earning a BA in English from The University of Maryland, College Park, he moved to Brooklyn, New York, where you can often find him walking the four blocks from the train to his apartment talking to himself. Well, not really talking to himself, but just repeating character names and plot lines he thought of on the train, over and over again, because he's afraid he'll forget it all before he gets home. Jason Reynolds is the author of critically acclaimed "When I Was the Greatest", for which he was the recipient of the Coretta Scott King/John Steptoe Award for New Talent, and "Boy in the Black Suit". You can find his ramblings at JasonWritesBooks.com.