“Sharp and funny. Gunderson taps into a buoyant spirit ... the touching ''barbaric yawp'' (Whitman''s phrase) of these two deeply engaging kids.” The Washington Post

Housebound by illness, Caroline hasn''t been to school in months. Confined to her room, she has only social media for company. That is until classmate Anthony bursts in – uninvited and armed with waffle fries, a scruffy copy of Walt Whitman''s poetry and a school project due the next day…

Caroline is unimpressed, but an unlikely friendship develops and a seemingly mundane piece of homework starts to reveal the pair''s hopes and dreams - as well as a deep and mysterious bond that connects them even further.

Finalist for the Susan Smith Blackburn Prize, 2014.

This new Modern Classics edition features an introduction by Julie Felise Dubiner.

“Sharp and funny. Gunderson taps into a buoyant spirit ... the touching ''barbaric yawp'' (Whitman''s phrase) of these two deeply engaging kids.” The Washington Post

Housebound by illness, Caroline hasn''t been to school in months. Confined to her room, she has only social media for company. That is until classmate Anthony bursts in – uninvited and armed with waffle fries, a scruffy copy of Walt Whitman''s poetry and a school project due the next day…

Caroline is unimpressed, but an unlikely friendship develops and a seemingly mundane piece of homework starts to reveal the pair''s hopes and dreams - as well as a deep and mysterious bond that connects them even further.

Finalist for the Susan Smith Blackburn Prize, 2014.

This new Modern Classics edition features an introduction by Julie Felise Dubiner.