Kirjahaku

Just dumped by his girlfriend, Jace Antonakos has recorded a proclamation in a notebook his English teacher made him take on his winter vacation to the Mayan Riviera: I'm going to Mexico to get laid. The fact that he's only days away from turning 18 and still a virgin has Jace spooked, and he figures that Playa del Carmen's golden beaches draped with equally golden girls should increase his odds of success. On the other hand, the fact that he's travelling with his mother, his aunt and his nine-year-old autistic brother just about kills that bet. Then he meets Kate, who he thinks might be just the person to help him with his "problem." If only he knew what to say to her. Nothing new there - no one in his family has been talking much after what happened to his older brother, Stefan. Until now, the no-talking thing has been working for Jace, who has kept a secret from everyone-including himself-for nearly a year.Opening up to someone may be way more than he can handle. In a story that is by turns hilarious and heartbreaking, Don Aker once again captures an actual teenager, wrestles him to the page and compassionately reveals him as a character who is equally smart and stupid about sexuality, sex, telling the truth and hiding the lies. With his incredible high-wire talent for balancing sensitive subjects with sardonic, teen-friendly humour, Aker delivers another brilliant must- read novel.

Reef is a troubled sixteen-year-old, who likes to smoke pot and drink with his friends in a derelict abandoned building. He also likes to throw stones from bridges over roads. There's a reason he throws stones - stemming from an abusive childhood - but one of his stones ends up smashing the windshield of seventeen-year-old Leeza Hemming's car, causing a horrific accident and landing Leeza in a hospital for three months, learning to walk again. Meanwhile, Reef faces charges in court and ends up being sentenced to a group home, where he will have to attend classes and volunteer at a rehabilitation centre. Because of some fluke in the assignment, he ends up volunteering with Leeza - they both don't know who each other is - and they start to help each other face life. Ironically, Reef is the key to Leeza's recovery, and vice versa. Then Leeza's mother walks in her daughter's hospital room and recognizes Reef from the courtroom...

"I am going to Mexico to get laid." That's what Jace Anotakis is planning for this big trip: to lose his virginity before he turns eighteen. Which is only two days away. Of course, the fact that he's flying to Mexico with his mother, aunt and younger brother might suggest the likelihood of that ever happening is slim. But he's a person with a purpose. And he thinks he's met just the girl for this, a fellow traveler from Halifax. However, getting to know her may be a little harder than he expects. Especially when the loud, obnoxious Dalhousie hockey star from the plane starts hanging around, who inexplicably seems to prefer being with Jace than with his big, drunken teammates. Almost against his will, Jace gets to know Connor MacPherson - even better than MacPherson's teammates will ever know. As he learns Connor's secrets, he must come to terms with his own family secrets and sorrows from the past.