Another of my 2011 reads, and another that I remember feeling was high-quality and emotionally compelling (pretty sure I cried) without recalling exact details. Doug's difficult home life was hard to read about, as was his brother's return from Vietnam (indeed, the hardest part about booktalking this for me was explaining when it took place). Yet he found such wonderful cheerleaders in his new town, too -- and who would have thought you could seamlessly work in a plotline about Audubon's Birds of America on top of everything else? 
 Favorite quotes: 
 Even the brass banister shone bright from all the hands that had run along it. 
 You know, when someone has been crying, something gets left in the air.