{"product_id":"9781338281941","title":"Honestly Ben","description":"\u003cstrong\u003eHonestly Ben\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor(s): Bill Konigsberg\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e      In the companion to \u003ci\u003eOpenly Straight\u003c\/i\u003e, Ben confronts pressure at school, repression at home, and his passion for two very different people in figuring out what it takes to be \u003ci\u003eHonestly Ben\u003c\/i\u003e.\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cb\u003eThe companion to the award-winning \u003ci\u003eOpenly Straight\u003c\/i\u003e, called \"remarkable...deeply satisfying and as honest as its appealing protagonist\" (\u003ci\u003eBooklist\u003c\/i\u003e). Perfect for fans of David Levithan, Andrew Smith, and John Green!\u003c\/b\u003eBen Carver is back to normal. He's working steadily in his classes at the Natick School. He just got elected captain of the baseball team. He's even won a full scholarship to college, if he can keep up his grades. All that foolishness with Rafe Goldberg the past semester is in the past.Except...There's Hannah, the gorgeous girl from the neighboring school, who attracts him and distracts him. There's his mother, whose quiet unhappiness Ben is noticing for the first time. School is harder, the pressure higher, the scholarship almost slipping away. And there's Rafe, funny, kind, dating someone else . . . and maybe the \u003ci\u003ereal\u003c\/i\u003e normal that Ben needs.     \u003c\/div\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eReview(s):\u003cbr\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cb\u003ePraise for \u003ci\u003eHonestly Ben\u003c\/i\u003e:\u003c\/b\u003e* \"Konigsberg has again done a remarkable job developing characters and inviting readers to consider the meaning of friendship with all its rewards and challenges. Extremely well written, this novel of ideas is deeply satisfying and as honest as its appealing protagonist.\" -- \u003ci\u003eBooklist\u003c\/i\u003e, starred review* \"Well-rounded characters take readers from serious, thoughtful discussions to typical teen pranks with ease . . . Equal parts serious and funny as it addresses homophobia, hazing rituals, and cheating while also delighting readers with a slice-of-life tale set at a private academy.\" -- \u003ci\u003eSchool Library Journal\u003c\/i\u003e, starred review* \"Konigsberg again realistically explores what happens when one's self butts up against . . . the world's expectations and assumptions . . . The result is a refreshingly honest exploration of modern relationships and an understanding that love can take many shapes and forms.\" -- \u003ci\u003ePublishers Weekly\u003c\/i\u003e, starred review\"\u003ci\u003eHonestly Ben\u003c\/i\u003e is funny, complex, joyful, heartbreaking, and exceedingly wise all at once. A teenager with any question about the right way to live couldn't ask for a better read.\" -- Geoff Herbach, author of \u003ci\u003eAnything You Want\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eStupid Fast\u003c\/i\u003e\"It's hard to write a good sequel, keeping what people loved about the first book, but adding something fresh and new. Not surprisingly, Bill Konigsberg pulls it off wonderfully in \u003ci\u003eHonestly Ben\u003c\/i\u003e.\" -- Brent Hartinger, author of \u003ci\u003eGeography Club\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eThree Truths and a Lie\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cb\u003ePraise for \u003ci\u003eOpenly Straight\u003c\/i\u003e:\u003c\/b\u003eWinner of the Sid Fleischman Award for HumorYALSA Best Fiction for Young Adults SelectionLambda Literary Award Finalist\"Funny, unexpected, peppered with terrific dialogue -- and best of all, achingly honest.\" -- Ned Vizzini, author of \u003ci\u003eIt's Kind of a Funny Story\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eHouse of Secrets\u003c\/i\u003e\"For anybody who ever wished they could be someone else (and who hasn't?), \u003ci\u003eOpenly Straight\u003c\/i\u003e provides a fun and intriguing, twisting-and-turning romp through sexuality, identity, friendship, and love.\" -- Alex Sanchez, author of \u003ci\u003eRainbow Boys\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eBoyfriends with Girlfriends\u003c\/i\u003e\"Bill Konigsberg hands a great high concept to a \u003ci\u003ereally\u003c\/i\u003e compelling narrator and presents us with a terrific read. Openly Straight is smart, funny, and unflinching. Read this book.\" -- Chris Crutcher, author of \u003ci\u003eDeadline\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eWhale Talk\u003c\/i\u003e, and \u003ci\u003ePeriod 8\u003c\/i\u003e\"Konigsberg's lovely novel invites us to walk with Rafe through his season of assumed identity and his costly emergence into honesty. It's beautiful. It's a story of salvation.\" -- \u003ci\u003eThe New York Times Book Review\u003c\/i\u003e* \"Lambda Literary Award-winner Konigsberg has written an exceptionally intelligent, thought-provoking, coming-of-age novel about the labels people apply to us and that we, perversely, apply to ourselves... \u003ci\u003eOpenly Straight\u003c\/i\u003e is altogether one of the best gay-themed novels of the last ten years.\" -- \u003ci\u003eBooklist\u003c\/i\u003e, starred review* \"Readers and discussion groups looking for new and deeper ways to think about what it means to live honestly in a world that sorts by labels will find this fresh and evocative.\" -- \u003ci\u003eThe Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books\u003c\/i\u003e, starred review\"For a thought-provoking, creative, twenty-first-century take on the coming-out story, look no further.\" -- \u003ci\u003eThe Horn Book Magazine\u003c\/i\u003e\"An original, thought-provoking, hilarious story about the importance of embracing your true identity, and the cost to yourself and others when you don't.\" -- Julie Ann Peters, author of \u003ci\u003eLuna\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eKeeping You a Secret\u003c\/i\u003e\"Openly Straight sports a sharp plot with a twist, sympathetic (and totally hot) characters, and universal appeal. It's a must-read for openly everyone!\" -- Lisa McMann, bestselling author of the Wake TrilogyPraise for \u003ci\u003eThe Porcupine of Truth\u003c\/i\u003e:Winner of the Stonewall Book AwardWinner of the PEN Center USA Literary Award for Children's\/Young AdultA YALSA Best Fiction for Young Adults Selection\"Words like 'brilliant' are so overused when praising novels--so I won't use that word. I'll just think it.\" -- Benjamin Alire Sáenz, author of \u003ci\u003eAristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe\u003c\/i\u003e\"Bill Konigsberg's \u003ci\u003eThe Porcupine of Truth\u003c\/i\u003e is at once heartwarming and heartbreaking, a funny and thought-provoking road trip with remarkable friends Carson and Aisha, who share tough lessons about mending fractures, forging bonds, and discovering grace. Undeniably human and unforgettably wise, this book is a gift for us all.\" -- Andrew Smith, author of \u003ci\u003eGrasshopper Jungle\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eWinger\u003c\/i\u003e* \"Konigsberg weaves together a masterful tale of uncovering the past, finding wisdom, and accepting others as well as oneself.\" -- \u003ci\u003eSchool Library Journal\u003c\/i\u003e, starred review* \"Konigsberg... crafts fascinating, multidimensional teen and adult characters. A friendship between a straight boy and a lesbian is relatively rare in YA fiction and is, accordingly, exceedingly welcome.\" -- \u003ci\u003eBooklist\u003c\/i\u003e, starred review\"Equal parts funny and profound.\" -- \u003ci\u003eKirkus Reviews\u003c\/i\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePraise for \u003ci\u003eHonestly Ben\u003c\/i\u003e:\u003c\/b\u003e* \"Konigsberg has again done a remarkable job developing characters and inviting readers to consider the meaning of friendship with all its rewards and challenges. Extremely well written, this novel of ideas is deeply satisfying and as honest as its appealing protagonist.\" -- \u003ci\u003eBooklist\u003c\/i\u003e, starred review* \"Well-rounded characters take readers from serious, thoughtful discussions to typical teen pranks with ease . . . Equal parts serious and funny as it addresses homophobia, hazing rituals, and cheating while also delighting readers with a slice-of-life tale set at a private academy.\" -- \u003ci\u003eSchool Library Journal\u003c\/i\u003e, starred review* \"Konigsberg again realistically explores what happens when one's self butts up against . . . the world's expectations and assumptions . . . The result is a refreshingly honest exploration of modern relationships and an understanding that love can take many shapes and forms.\" -- \u003ci\u003ePublishers Weekly\u003c\/i\u003e, starred review\"\u003ci\u003eHonestly Ben\u003c\/i\u003e is funny, complex, joyful, heartbreaking, and exceedingly wise all at once. A teenager with any question about the right way to live couldn't ask for a better read.\" -- Geoff Herbach, author of \u003ci\u003eAnything You Want\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eStupid Fast\u003c\/i\u003e\"It's hard to write a good sequel, keeping what people loved about the first book, but adding something fresh and new. Not surprisingly, Bill Konigsberg pulls it off wonderfully in \u003ci\u003eHonestly Ben\u003c\/i\u003e.\" -- Brent Hartinger, author of \u003ci\u003eGeography Club\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eThree Truths and a Lie\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cb\u003ePraise for \u003ci\u003eOpenly Straight\u003c\/i\u003e:\u003c\/b\u003eWinner of the Sid Fleischman Award for HumorYALSA Best Fiction for Young Adults SelectionLambda Literary Award Finalist\"Funny, unexpected, peppered with terrific dialogue -- and best of all, achingly honest.\" -- Ned Vizzini, author of \u003ci\u003eIt's Kind of a Funny Story\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eHouse of Secrets\u003c\/i\u003e\"For anybody who ever wished they could be someone else (and who hasn't?), \u003ci\u003eOpenly Straight\u003c\/i\u003e provides a fun and intriguing, twisting-and-turning romp through sexuality, identity, friendship, and love.\" -- Alex Sanchez, author of \u003ci\u003eRainbow Boys\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eBoyfriends with Girlfriends\u003c\/i\u003e\"Bill Konigsberg hands a great high concept to a \u003ci\u003ereally\u003c\/i\u003e compelling narrator and presents us with a terrific read. Openly Straight is smart, funny, and unflinching. Read this book.\" -- Chris Crutcher, author of \u003ci\u003eDeadline\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eWhale Talk\u003c\/i\u003e, and \u003ci\u003ePeriod 8\u003c\/i\u003e\"Konigsberg's lovely novel invites us to walk with Rafe through his season of assumed identity and his costly emergence into honesty. It's beautiful. It's a story of salvation.\" -- \u003ci\u003eThe New York Times Book Review\u003c\/i\u003e* \"Lambda Literary Award-winner Konigsberg has written an exceptionally intelligent, thought-provoking, coming-of-age novel about the labels people apply to us and that we, perversely, apply to ourselves... \u003ci\u003eOpenly Straight\u003c\/i\u003e is altogether one of the best gay-themed novels of the last ten years.\" -- \u003ci\u003eBooklist\u003c\/i\u003e, starred review* \"Readers and discussion groups looking for new and deeper ways to think about what it means to live honestly in a world that sorts by labels will find this fresh and evocative.\" -- \u003ci\u003eThe Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books\u003c\/i\u003e, starred review\"For a thought-provoking, creative, twenty-first-century take on the coming-out story, look no further.\" -- \u003ci\u003eThe Horn Book Magazine\u003c\/i\u003e\"An original, thought-provoking, hilarious story about the importance of embracing your true identity, and the cost to yourself and others when you don't.\" -- Julie Ann Peters, author of \u003ci\u003eLuna\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eKeeping You a Secret\u003c\/i\u003e\"Openly Straight sports a sharp plot with a twist, sympathetic (and totally hot) characters, and universal appeal. It's a must-read for openly everyone!\" -- Lisa McMann, bestselling author of the Wake TrilogyPraise for \u003ci\u003eThe Porcupine of Truth\u003c\/i\u003e:Winner of the Stonewall Book AwardWinner of the PEN Center USA Literary Award for Children's\/Young AdultA YALSA Best Fiction for Young Adults Selection\"Words like 'brilliant' are so overused when praising novels--so I won't use that word. I'll just think it.\" -- Benjamin Alire Sáenz, author of \u003ci\u003eAristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe\u003c\/i\u003e\"Bill Konigsberg's \u003ci\u003eThe Porcupine of Truth\u003c\/i\u003e is at once heartwarming and heartbreaking, a funny and thought-provoking road trip with remarkable friends Carson and Aisha, who share tough lessons about mending fractures, forging bonds, and discovering grace. Undeniably human and unforgettably wise, this book is a gift for us all.\" -- Andrew Smith, author of \u003ci\u003eGrasshopper Jungle\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eWinger\u003c\/i\u003e* \"Konigsberg weaves together a masterful tale of uncovering the past, finding wisdom, and accepting others as well as oneself.\" -- \u003ci\u003eSchool Library Journal\u003c\/i\u003e, starred review* \"Konigsberg... crafts fascinating, multidimensional teen and adult characters. A friendship between a straight boy and a lesbian is relatively rare in YA fiction and is, accordingly, exceedingly welcome.\" -- \u003ci\u003eBooklist\u003c\/i\u003e, starred review\"Equal parts funny and profound.\" -- \u003ci\u003eKirkus Reviews\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eISBN:  9781338281941\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e ","brand":"Scholastic Inc.","offers":[{"title":"Paperback \/ softback","offer_id":40758029254862,"sku":"9781338281941","price":10.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0600\/7029\/7806\/products\/O_dfa1b801-dcd9-478a-8ab1-23ea700e46d0.jpg?v=1644502148","url":"https:\/\/pickwickbookshop.com\/products\/9781338281941","provider":"Pickwick Bookshop","version":"1.0","type":"link"}