The Family I’m In

Gr 7 Up–John-John isn’t quite like other boys his age. A self-described nerd, he’s into archery and Star Wars, and he’s the only boy in book club. He’s never been on a date or kissed a girl, a source of distress for him and even more so for his dad, Big John, a neighborhood personality who runs a successful salvage business and constantly pressures his son to be more like him. Many characters will be familiar to readers of Flake’s previous companion novels, The Skin I’m In and The Life I’m In. But the focus here is on John-John, or John as he now prefers, a high school junior living with his divorced mom, and friend Caleb, who is struggling to help his family escape eviction following his dad’s disabling aneurysm. John has a lot going on: static with his dad’s new wife, a desperate crush on classmate Ashley (whose conservative mother won’t allow her to date or talk to boys on the phone), mounting tension with Caleb around family stress, his fruitless attempts to find a date for the junior prom. A carjacking incident and misplaced attempt to stand up for themselves leads the boys to a nearly catastrophic climax. All significant characters are Black. The narration by John-John frequently incorporates African American Vernacular English, giving a colloquial immediacy to the story.