The Groston Rules
by Mark Binder
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Pub Date Nov 08 2020 | Archive Date Dec 02 2020
Light Publications | Independent Book Publishers Association (IBPA), Members' Titles
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Description
Seven friends trying to graduate high school get caught up with bullying, climate change, and other dysfunctions…
Isaac, Adam, Helen, Charlie, Sean, Jésus and Rover had planned on coasting through their final semester at Ashby Bryson High. They call themselves Team Bomb Shelter, and their plan was simple, get stoned, play video games, get into college, and get the hell out of Groston.
Instead, they get caught up in chaos.
Adam assaults two football stars. Fat Charlie's father nearly dies of a heart attack. Jesus can’t make his art while chauffeuring his siblings around town. Rover's never had a date. Helen's house is destroyed in a flood. Sean is coming out of the closet. And Isaac can't get into college to save his life.
The last straw is when Ashby Bryson High School is suddenly shut down, and they're bussed to Fectville Regional High School, which sucks.
But every time Team Bomb Shelter gets knocked down, they get up again, come together, and solve their problems. They throw the rules out the window and make up their own.
THE GROSTON RULES is like a humorous buddy war movie, with high school as the battlefield. Everyone in Team Bomb Shelter has their own challenges, but by working together, they overcome and ultimately triumph.
THE GROSTON RULES is an edgy book for high school readers. With suspenseful twists and turns, it is a captivating and lighthearted high school tale about teens in trouble, surviving high school through their strong friendships.
Adults, young adults and mature teens won’t be able to put it down, because the story is as much about teen survival and unschooling as it is a young adult coming of age tale, rife with dark humor, teen comedy, fuck ups, and the occasional raunchy teen story. It’s a fast paced laugh out loud book that teenagers will actually read – a naughty high school teen comedy that you can’t put down.
A Note From the Publisher
Audiobook (ISBN: 978-1-940060-43-9)
Ebook (ISBN: 978-1-940060-40-8)
Audiobook (ISBN: 978-1-940060-43-9)
Ebook (ISBN: 978-1-940060-40-8)
Advance Praise
"A group of high schoolers deals with mishaps and disasters six months before graduation in this coming-of-age novel...Immensely likable characters on an enthralling and entertaining journey."
– Kirkus Reviews
"Isaac Cohen and his six close friends will soon earn their diplomas in Groston, their small New England town. They spend much of their time hanging out and playing games in Dave Rover’s bomb-shelter basement. Anticipating a smooth ride to graduation, they have ready access to Adam Siegal’s medical marijuana. Adam 'scored a medical marijuana card after a massive hip injury.' But hurdles await, starting with Adam’s scuffle with a couple of star football players at Ashby Bryson High School. It’s clearly self-defense for Adam, a skilled aikido practitioner, but the fallout adversely affects his admission to Columbia. Isaac, meanwhile, has received neither an acceptance nor a rejection from Harvard. It only gets worse for everyone when calamitous weather forces the seven friends to attend school in another region. They clash with the other students as well as the rather pigheaded principal. But Isaac and company are resilient, and they make the most of their pre-graduation days by livening up a rave and, later, their prom. The friends also work hard on a 'big end of the year prank' to send themselves and fellow students off in style. Binder’s vivid characters are certainly not what the title suggests. Isaac narrates, though each one in the group shines, from Charlie Johnson, who grows to despise his nickname, 'Fat Charlie,' to Helen Beagle, who relies on a wheelchair but repeatedly proves she’s not helpless. There are occasional hardships, like a loved one’s death, but the story is generally lighthearted and good-natured, with a focus on the prom and a potential romance between Adam and Helen. Dialogue is particularly delightful, as it’s welcome banter between witty and loyal friends. Despite the 2018 setting, these teenagers regularly use outdated slang ('grooved' and 'boogied') and pop-culture references (Spencer Tracy and Katharine Hepburn movies).
Immensely likable characters on an enthralling and entertaining journey.”
– Kirkus Reviews
Available Editions
| EDITION | Paperback |
| ISBN | 9781940060422 |
| PRICE | $24.95 (USD) |
Featured Reviews
Patrick T, Librarian
Groston Rules is a new YA novel by Mark Binder. Centering on a group of friends during their senior year and the many things that go right and wrong. The story hits all the right buttons and is funny and poignant. The cast of characters are diverse without falling into the trap of just having diverse characters to check off boxes. Each character is important to the story and serves a very specific purpose.
This is definitely the kind of book to put in the hand of someone who has read and enjoyed John Greens Teen books like Paper Towns and The Fault in Our Stars. Binder cleverly uses a balanced approach to foul language. Not shying away from it and using it in a way that reflects reality. Teens in their senior year are going to swear, not having an occasional swear word in a story about senior year, would be unrealistic.
Verdict: This is a book I would give as a gift to teens who like to read and teens who aren’t crazy about reading. There is enough here to please the avid readers and reluctant readers alike.
Hope H, Librarian
High school senior, Isaac, and his friends "The Bomb Shelter Gang" found each other in middle school and continued to hang out with each other. They are admittedly comfortable and middle-class and enjoy their diverse group. Diverse in nearly every way possible: abilities, racial, gender, and sexuality. They don't notice their diversity and are puzzled when others comment on it.
Torrential rains cause the dam in the neighboring town of Fectville (take a moment and you will figure out the nickname. If you don't the book spells it out for you quite succinctly) to break, followed by an immediate deep freeze which destroys the high school and paralyzes the city. The students are bussed to Fectville High for the remainder of their senior year and are quite miserable. As their lives play out far from the expected script of coasting through senior year, the friends hatch an amazing plan to reclaim their school and graduation from the Fectville "....Feckers....."
What a great book! I loved Isaac's view on the world and how confusing it is to be a teen in the 21st century. The diversity is natural and sensical - not a forced "see how diverse this book is" that I am unfortunately beginning to see more and more. I always like when kids have a strong voice and exercise their right to be heard and this book also carries that theme.
This is another book where my newfound stinginess with a 5 rating is causing me angst. It is a 4-star....but understand it is a 4++. I hope to see this on some state reading award lists.
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