Private school? Oh, hell...

Despite his astonishingly powerful ADHD, Jon will do anything for his friends in this sly novel with "just the right amount of humor, angst, sadness and redemption." (Amazon review)

When hopelessly energetic, smart-ass Jon Matthew -- who wants nothing more than a good laugh and to needle anyone older than 16 -- is sent to a private religious high school, he must toe the line for the first time in his life. (Or else end up in one of those "bad-kid camps in the desert where they make you dig for treasure.") To make it to graduation, he enlists the help of Bill, a big dork who is loyal to a fault; Molly, the dark-souled skater who carries a secret she won't share; and Lauren, a dangerously asthmatic girl who Jon's crushing on but who is trying way too hard to be one of the cool kids.

Against overwhelming odds (a.k.a. "teachers"), Jon powers through his education while his mouth puts him on a daily razor's edge of getting booted out. Just when it looks like he's pulled off a miracle, a tragedy knocks Jon's world on its axis. Suddenly all his jokes and sarcasm aren't as helpful as he used to think, and he'll have to rely on those new friends to keep from losing his mind, his school, or his heart.

A Little Insurrection Now & Then is a fast-paced, comic indictment of parochial school life . . . a heart-breaking take on how things can abruptly go all wrong . . . and a celebration of our genuine friendships.

A person who lived the private school life and survived to tell the tale, Tom Leveen is an award-winning author of several YA novels, including ZERO (an ALA/YALSA Best Book), PARTY, MANICPIXIEDREAMGIRL, and HELLWORLD (a Bram Stoker Award finalist) among others.


Genre: Young Adult Fiction