Junk Boy

beyond good, really.
he put the drawing
back in the envelope
on the stump
I still couldn’t
say a word
We won’t talk
If you don’t want to.
No questions to answer
If you don’t want.
Just work.
and some weight
the leaden heavy thing
of fifteen years
floated off
my shoulders
like a drift of smoke
in the light coming
down from the trees
I gave him a nod
and as much of a smile
as I could manage
and we set to work

Author’s Note
I have always felt sympathy for the young person, usually a boy, who may not feel adequate to the demands of the world he finds himself in. It seems to speed around him, blurring his ability to take hold of it. He is quiet, unsure most of the time, and though he can be thoughtful, kind, creative, and imaginative, these attributes are not always helpful when dealing with others. Robert Lang is such a boy, not the first in my books.
In looking into Robert’s life, I found Rachel Braly moving into my mind and taking up residence, too. I’m happy to know her and love her just as much. Together, these two outliers share a part, a small part, of their story with us. If reading about others broadens our physical universe, it also inspires our mental lives. Getting to know fictional selves can help us build—and build up—sensors that alert us to the nuances of what the actual people around us say, or do not say, about themselves, and helps us to deal with them.
It’s no secret that people are complex, inconsistent, and difficult, and they suffer depression, isolation, family tension:the whole spectrum of human emotion. So, if you see something or hear something that doesn’t seem right, if you don’t see or hear what you think you should, even if you simply feel something—share it. Our world is one of undeniable beauty and unavoidable risk. We are in it together, each of us a single instrument in a vast symphony. We’re here to play our parts.
Some resources for readers who want to know more about these issues include the Suicide Prevention Resource Center (www.sprc.org), which contains information about how to recognize depression, alienation, bullying, and other causes of teen suicide, and what to do when you see someone at risk. The National Domestic Violence Hotline (www.thehotline.org) has resources for those suffering or suspected of suffering violence at home, including a Chat Now feature in English and Spanish and manned hotlines at 1-800-799-7233 and 1-800-787-3224 (TTY). The American Society for the Positive Care of Children (www.americanspcc.org/bullying-and-schools) offers help in situations of bullying behavior. Naturally, these are only a few of the many resources available. Closer to home, of course, are trusted parents, teachers, counselors, clergy, and, in some cases, the police, all of whom can be expected to help with such issues.
I want to thank, as always, my wife and my daughters for their constant support of my strange vocation of writing about people they haven’t met. Nora Raleigh Baskin was critical and so kind in responding to my first drafts of this story; your faith, Nora, helped me let these characters speak their hearts. Katherine Tegen, being edited so sensitively and persuasively by you has been an honor. Your talent for shaping a difficult story has helped take the manuscript to a far higher level from where it started. I am grateful to Sara Schonfeld for her thoughtful commentary on critical passages; her keen eye and love of the characters have made their story much stronger. My thanks to Jen Strada, whose many microtonal suggestions so enhanced the music of Bobby’s narration, and to Anna Prendella for her substantive editorial remarks throughout. I continue to be thankful to Patricia Reilly Giff, who got me started on this wonderful journey so many years ago. Cheers to you all.


About the Author
Photo by Thomas Sayers Ellis
TONY ABBOTT is the author of many books for young readers, including the series the Secrets of Droon and the Copernicus Legacy and the novels Firegirl, Lunch-Box Dream, The Great Jeff, and Denis Ever After. Tony has worked in libraries and bookstores and at a publishing company and has taught creative writing. He has two grown daughters and lives in Connecticut with his wife and two dogs. You can visit him online at www.tonyabbottbooks.com.
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Books by Tony Abbott
The Copernicus Legacy: The Forbidden Stone
The Copernicus Legacy: The Serpent’s Curse
The Copernicus Legacy: The Golden Vendetta
The Copernicus Legacy: The Crown of Fire
The Copernicus Archives #1: Wade and the Scorpion’s Claw
The Copernicus Archives #2: Becca and the Prisoner’s Cross
Denis Ever After
Junk Boy


Copyright
Katherine Tegen Books is an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers.
JUNK BOY. Copyright © 2020 by Tony Abbott. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the nonexclusive, nontransferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse-engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.
www.epicreads.com
Cover art © 2020 by Thomas Cian
Cover design by David DeWitt
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Abbott, Tony, author.
Title: Junk boy / Tony Abbott.
Description: First edition. | New York, NY : Katherine Tegen Books, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers, [2020] | Audience: Ages 14 up. | Audience: Grades 10–12. | Summary: “Bobby, who is bullied by the kids at school for living in a home with a front yard that is filled with garbage, meets a young artist who teaches him to see himself as more than ‘Junk Boy.’”— Provided by publisher.
Identifiers: LCCN 2020000858 | ISBN 9780062491251 (hardcover)
Subjects: CYAC: Novels in verse. | Family problems—Fiction. | Child abuse—Fiction. | Friendship—Fiction.
Classification: LCC PZ7.5.A23 Ju 2020 | DDC [Fic]—dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2020000858
Digital Edition OCTOBER 2020 ISBN: 978-0-06-249127-5
Print ISBN: 978-0-06-249125-1
2021222324PC/LSCH10987654321