Anything Could Happen by Will Walton | SLJ Review

WALTON, Will. Anything Could Happen. 288p. Scholastic/PUSH. Jun. 2015. Tr $17.99. ISBN 000 anything could happen9780545709545; ebk. $17.99. ISBN 9780545709552. Gr 8 Up–This debut novel introduces readers to gay teen Richard “Tretch” Farm, his straight best friend (and major crush), Matt, and their caring circle of family and friends in contemporary small-town U.S.A. Readers experience Tretch’s turbulent emotions as well as the warmth of his close-knit extended family in this first-person narrative. Over the course of one eventful winter break, he goes from bullied, closeted, and secretive about his love of dance to out, proud, reconciled with his former tormentor, and rocking out on the dance floor. The ending’s rushed resolution to several plot threads is hard to believe, yet it is preceded by many slow-moving scenes that detail Tretch’s moment-by-moment longing for the unattainable—and frankly somewhat boring—Matt. VERDICT While not a necessary purchase, this is a friendly read for teens who enjoyed the sweetness in David Levithan’s Boy Meets Boy (Knopf, 2005) or the small-town experience in Emily M. Danforth’s The Miseducation of Cameron Post (HarperCollins, 2013).–Sarah Stone, San Francisco Public Library

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