As the youngest of eight siblings, Pup Flanagan is used to flying under the radar, getting whatever hand-me-downs life gives, and settling for less. Like with his best friend, Izzy, who he's been into since freshman yearshe uses him, and he never says anything. Or with his grades in schoolhe's failing and not really bothered by it. His future, too, is undecided, and he's fine with that. The only person who ever made Pup think he could be more was his older brother Patrick, the family's golden child. But that was before Patrick died, leaving a house full of broken people who are just barely getting by. With parents who have checked out and siblings who can't bear to utter Patrick's name, Pup's left to wrestle with the nagging persistence of this void, while everyone elsefriends, counselors, strangerscan't manage to say anything more than "sorry for your loss." But when Pup excels at a photography assignment he thought he'd bomb, things in his life start to come into focus. His dream girl shows her true colors. An unexpected friend exposes Pup to a whole new world of food, acceptance, and family. And the photograph that was supposed to show Pup a way out of his grief ultimately reveals someone else who is still stuck in their own. Someone with a secret regret Pup never could have imagined.

14-UP.

09-UP.