Synopsis:
This story takes place in a small town in Michigan named Rock Ledge. The main protagonist and focus is a slim 17-year-old boy named Sky Baker. Ever since coming out gay, Sky’s life has been noticeably harder. His born-again mother had kicked him out of the house and he’s been staying over his best friend Bree’s since living in her family’s basement (which is currently under renovation). His life at school isn’t much better as he deals with constant teasing and verbal assaults from the homophobic Cliff Norquest and his jock lackeys which further reminds him of his mother’s disdain towards him. The bullying further caused Sky to be insecure around other straight guys due to constantly feeling judged and criticized, even around his straight best friend Marshall due to his constant talks about his new and 1st girlfriend. Sky has never known his father as he died in a car crash when he was very young and received a large blemish on his chest from the accident that he calls Mars. The blemish has never faded and caused Sky to feel self-conscious about taking his shirt off in public (let alone staring at it through a large mirror). Despite his hardships, Sky still retains close friendships with Bree (with her whole family fond of him as well) and Marshall as the 3 often go out of town to see movies together and are in yearbook club together with their favorite teacher Penelope Winter whom Sky looks up to. Unknown to most people except Bree and her family, Sky harbors a massive crush on a fellow student and friend Ali Rashid who affectionately refers to him as “Sky High” and made a big planning board to prompose in front of him during the Senior Beach-Bum Party coming up in a month. 22 Days before, Sky and his friends were invited to a house party hosted by Ali. After a failed attempt to play beer pong (as their classmate had gotten drunk and disappeared), Ali & Sky sit down on a nearby couch in the basement to talk. They reflect on their time together in school and reveal that they’ve known each other for a long time. When Ali moves to tell Sky something the same classmates interrupt and separate the 2 leading Ali to tend to them promising to continue the conversation later. After the party, the 3 friends (accompanied by Ainsley and Teddy) venture to the movie theaters to see the film they had seen prior. However, they notice Bree being very distant and standoffish, but none including Sky were able to make sense of what was going on. On the bright side, Sky was still cheery after his conversation with Ali and later managed to lower his barriers with Teddy after engaging in friendly conversation. We also learn that Sky has desires to attend community college but without his mother’s assistance and the fact that hope of achieving a scholarship seemed unlikely for him, Sky has his doubts he could achieve what his friends have already accomplished. In a pleasant mood, Sky wakes up early one day and makes blueberry walnut pancakes for the house surprising the Brandstones. However, Bree still in a mood pulls him away to school early. After trigonometry, Winter suddenly appears and reveals to Sky that their daily e-blast had been sent out containing pictures of Sky and Ali together and Sky’s promposal wall with a caption that explicitly slurs the both of them and refers to Ali as a terrorist to his visible ire. Although Ali remained sympathetic to Sky, he solemnly revealed that he wanted to ask if Bree was going to prom with anyone. This makes Sky feel even more devastated and upset to the point where he throws up all over Winter’s desk and later leaves School unwilling to deal with the backlash and confusion. This even causes him to avoid Marshall as well to the latter's concern. When Bree arrives to check on him, Sky solemnly accuses her of the e-blast having something to do with her deeply hurting his best friend. Sky spends the majority of his days resting in his “room” only coming out to eat with everyone else checking up on him. Eventually, Mrs. Brandstone gives him a gift (left from outside) which contains a yearbook from when she graduated with his father, it also contains a note with an address to a man named Charlie with a direct to the page with him and Sky’s late father Henry along with a quote that says “Charlie Was the toughest guy I know”. After reconciling with Bree and convincing her to take him to Traverse City, Sky meets the man Charlie alongside his boyfriend Brian and their dog Robert (Bob). Unwilling to disclose his real identity, Sky takes up an alias and lies stating he is there to sell him an ad campaign for him. Maintaining the facade, Sky learns that the man he is right before is best friends with his father who was the first one he told was gay when coming out. This caused a newfound respect from Henry who referred to Charlie as tough for being able to come out in their heavily conservative community. Inspired by Charlie’s words and having a new sense of determination, Sky feigns an excuse and leaves now with a drive to be as tough as Charlie is and get back at Cliff for his actions. Coming up with a plan and enlisting Marshall and Ali to help, Sky and Bree decide to plot their “revenge” and manage to piece together how the proposal wall had gotten leaked due to one of the construction workers in the basement being related to Cliff. With an idea in mind, the 4 dress up in white T-shirts counting the days down and with Sky and Ali's shirts specifically saying they are “Gay for (Each other)”. The shirts become a popular talk among the school with many wondering if Sky was still intending to prompose to Ali which he outright refuses to do having lost faith in Ali returning his feelings. With their classmate, Carolyn out sick and not desiring to leave their tracks in the open they are unable to learn for sure who was behind the photo of Ali & Sky in the E-Blast. While Winter checks up on Sky, Sky gets a text from his estranged brother Gus who desires to meet up with Sky to talk. Later that day, he meets up with Charlie again to inquire more about his father (and set up a fake ad with his equipment). He learns that his father also had aspirations to escape Rock Ledge and used to visit Charlie while he was studying in Chicago unfortunately his desire to escape never came to be once he settled down and had kids. 10 days before the party, Sky and his team see that their class president Victor Bungle is against Sky’s plan to protest against the E-blast and accuse it of making a mockery of the LGBT community and takes away from the Beach Bum Party. Undeterred, knowing the Faculty & parents will support his message, and unwilling to back down, Bree uses the rest of the funds from the class account to get the entire class on board with Sky & Ali’s message as further protest with even Teddy, Dan, and Ainsley participating. In the midst, Sky managed to figure out how Cliff hacked the E-Blast it was by tricking a classmate into signing onto the memories on his phone (to prove an embarrassing picture wasn’t in her section of the yearbook). Eight days before the beach bum party, Sky visits Charlie again still in his Justin Jackson alias. While working on the fake yearbook ad, Sky requests that Charlie take a look at his blemish. Charlie is at a loss for words when he instantly recognizes the scar and figures out that Justin is Sky. Sky overhears this when he speaks to Brian privately and takes his leave completely embarrassed over his lies. 6 days before the Beach Bum party, Sky alongside Bree and Ali managed to figure out how the picture was taken, it turns out one of Cliff’s compatriots had taken a mutual classmate’s phone to take a picture of the two and then emailed it to himself to cover their tracks. Sky was noticeably still troubled over the incident with Charlie and his upcoming meeting with Gus and his mom but kept his feelings hidden to avoid worrying anyone. Eventually 4 days before the party, Sky, Ali, and Victor get called into Principal Burgers’ office to settle things. He explains that he had been getting calls and private messages from concerned parents and students alike who worry that prom is “turning gay” and prohibits the shirts from being worn in school and makes Victor take down his post as a compromise. This naturally agitated Sky and Ali who accused him of not caring even though they were being cyberbullied and racially targeted. Winter backs up their claims when she reminds him that he promised to look into the incident (which by now was nearly solved by the students) and refuses to enforce the rule in her classroom so long as the discrimination against the boys continues. Beyond upset and outraged at his authority being challenged the Principal decides to ban prom for the students supporting the countdown and implores Winter to fund her own prom. Unwilling to back down she agrees and has her yearbook students chip in to create a discrimination-free prom of their own. Bree proposes it be held in her basement and other students offer their assistance to fund it. While working on it at Bree’s house, Teddy sees the Brandstone’s house is right near Lake Michigan, and Ainsley implores the other kids to go out for a swim. Although Sky is initially reluctant due to Mars upon Teddy seeing the scar by accident and revealing his own scar under his armpit, Sky regains confidence and decides to show everyone the scar. 2 days before the party, Sky meets up with Gus and his girlfriend Chelsea. Although Gus tried to present a friendly understanding demeanor to Sky even after he nonchalantly told them he was gay, Sky eventually suspected Gus was stalling as he kept deflecting questions about their mom’s whereabouts and demanded answers. Gus confessed that their mom backed out at the last minute and didn’t want to see Sky, disheartening the poor boy ("awww"), to make matters worse she instructed Gus to suggest a Christian program for Sky to attend as her ultimatum if he wants to come home. Beyond frustrated at their Mother’s unwillingness to accept her son or even try to work out their grievances because of her beliefs, Sky begins to lash out including at Chelsea when she tried to mediate earning him an angry warning response from Gus who called him a faggot in reflex. Realizing there is no fixing their family and unwilling to make amends with those who refuse to accept Sky for who he is, Sky instead takes his leave declaring his mother a lost cause and his brother just as bad. As Sky is still reeling in from Gus’ f-bomb and avoiding various questions from other students about his prompose, one of their classmates Carolyn sends Bree proof of Cliff’s direct involvement in the E-Blast hack. Elated, she alongside Sky and Marshall immediately March to Winter’s classroom to break the news only to be dumbfounded and surprised when she reveals that not only does she know that Cliff is behind the deed but privately confessed to Winter that he had done it and was already sent back to the principal’s office prior leaving the gang feeling a mixture of embarrassment, irritation, and disappointment that their efforts have been for naught. Sky in particular is at a loss for words. Speaking privately to Sky, Winter expresses her appreciation and pride for Sky for standing up for himself and trying to navigate through his tough times. She also advises him to fight to keep Marshall and Bree in their lives acknowledging that they deeply care about him and will still be there even when studying abroad. Still puzzled over Winter calling him “one of the lucky ones”, Sky gets an unexpected visit from Charlie. Now knowing who he is and suspecting the ad campaign was merely a cover, Charlie bore no ill will towards Sky and began to reminisce over an abandoned classroom where he and Sky talked privately. It is here that Sky learned that his father Henry was something of a class clown but possessed a “heart of gold”. He also explained that he only met Charlie one time and the reason is because after the accident his mom had closed off from everyone including his father’s loved ones only hearing from her when she asked for medical advice on Sky’s burn scar. Saddened but unsurprised over his mother’s selfishness, Sky apologized on her behalf. He inquires whether or not he knew Mrs. Brandstone but Charlie struggles to recall any memories of her. Sky also apologized for lying to Charlie about his identity but Charlie brushes it off understanding how stressful Sky’s life is due to being under similar circumstances living in Rock Ledge. Touched, Sky impulsively hugs him before leaving for class feeling somewhat relieved. Getting an idea, Sky (with Bree and Winter’s permission) writes a paragraph on the next E-Blast thanking those who comforted him during his difficult time and stuck by him and explaining how he and many others felt like outsiders in their conservative town. He also clarifies that he’s not promposing to Ali and just wants to enjoy the Beach Bum Party. On the day of the party right before Sky was assigned with the family to do yard work he received a letter confirming his scholarship and enabling him to go to college much to his and the Brandstones’ joy. Later that day, Sky carpools with Marshall, Bree, and Ainsley to the party. Here Sky discovers 2 things Bree wasn’t just close friends with Dan she was dating him and the reason why she was in a sour mood before the E-Blast was due to him breaking up with her to protect her as he struggled to navigate him coming out as trans to his school; they had only recently gotten back together much to Sky’s shock and joy. He also realized the reason Bree kept it hidden was to avoid upsetting Sky further. At the party, Sky is proudly showing off “Mars” to the other seniors before meeting with Ali. As Sky begins to adjust however to his utter disbelief, everyone begins wearing “Gay for Sky” shirts while Teddy is wearing his track outfit and with yellow roses (Sky’s favorite color) and Promposes to Sky. Sky begins to recollect and realize he had Teddy pegged wrong as his attempts at making conversation and trying to socialize with Sky were merely him trying to flirt and connect with him. Marshall also revealed he was behind the whole thing (hence his apprehension to Sky promposing to Ali) and was pestering Sky with questions to make Teddy look good for Sky. Weeks following the promposal is Sky’s birthday, and as he wanted, Bree’s family decides to make it low-key. The yearbooks have also been published and released to the students. Sky and Teddy are now dating and the latter takes Sky over to Brian’s tattoo shop to get a design over “Mars”. Before leaving they meet with Dan who managed to start a Gay Lesbian or Whatever (GLOW) club with a new lesbian biology teacher serving as its advisor. Dan also informs Sky that he had run into Cliff who apologized for the e-blast and wishes to make amends with him and Ali. Teddy is staunchly against the idea but Sky remains unsure. In between the weeks of the beach bum party and Sky’s birthday, Sky develops a closer relationship with Charlie and Brian who become something of uncle figures to Sky, Brian even offers Sky a job as a receptionist at his shop and allows Sky to stay with them whenever he needs to due to the hour drive (with Bree loaning Sky her car for the semester). The tattoo Sky desires is his Father’s initials in remembrance of him. As a bonus, even Charlie gets a similar tattoo (to Brian’s excitement). On the day when everyone is planning the prom, after picking out sky blue paint for his room, Sky makes a shocking discovery, while searching the Brandstone's master bedroom for a tie for Dan, Sky discovers an identical 1996 yearbook and quickly realizes that the book he currently has that was left on the porch is not Mrs. Brandstone, upon reading a note in the back addressed to Penelope by Henry and recognizing the quote, Sky immediately concludes that Winter is the one responsible for giving him the book. With everyone else gone and not willing to wait a second longer, Sky grabs a narwhal coat and jogs over to Winter’s house, stubbing his toe and injuring himself in the process but continues with his journey to seek answers. Upon arriving, Winter patched up Sky’s wound and opened up to him about her relationship with his father. She reveals that she was once close friends with him and Charlie much like how Sky is to Bree and Marshall, however, her desires to escape Rock Ledge and see the world had caused her friendship with the 2 to fade as they lost contact over time and she feels some guilt for not being able to reconnect with Henry before the accident. She further explains that she kept it secret from Sky to avoid making him uncomfortable and only opened up about it for him to see and remember that he has people who care about him. Although Sky has more questions about his father, they are interrupted by an arriving Bree alongside Teddy and Dan. Saving his questions for another day, Sky thanks Winter for her help and returns the yearbook to her. At Sky’s request, she begins to consider reconnecting with Charlie and watches as Sky leaves with his respectfully silent friends to set up the prom now feeling confident that he has a new family in his and his father’s friends and loved ones as well as possessing the ability to handle himself whenever life gets rough for him.
Thoughts:
I can honestly say this book might inspire the naming of my future child. Sky Blue or Blue Sky sounds like a unique and beautiful name for a boy or a girl. Overall this is a decent book to read, we all wanna escape from our homes to see what the world is. I know I do so I can truly relate to Sky’s desires. I love Philadelphia as my hometown but I feel there’s more to life than this place. It might even be the death of me given all that goes on and the violence that occurs. If I had a superpower it would be teleportation and the ability to from Philly to Tokyo, Japan in 10 seconds, my relationships would be a lot easier to work out and I could build some connections after all I know people from all around the world from El Salvador to Italy, China, Vietnam, Mexico, Peru, Haiti, Puerto Rico, Costa Rica, and Japan. It would be nice for me to leave Philly to connect with all of them and just explore the planet. I’m working towards that now with my friend Andrew who doesn’t mind accompanying me across the country or around the world. Much like Charlie I also have a best friend who lives outside of my hometown (outside the country for that matter). He can be hard to reach which irritates me because sometimes I really need to reach out to him but we still connect from time to time and we care and check up on each other. I even noticed that I influenced him a bit. I would probably put this book up there with my top 5 but rank it exactly at 5 below Jay’s Gay Agenda. Doesn’t completely stand out in comparison to All That’s Left in the World or as romantically messy as What If It’s Us & Here’s To Us but it is a great read and I was entertained when I first read it. I like how the book also advises you to have tough skin and sometimes work to do everything yourself. I’m kind of on that level currently but still reaping the benefits of not paying rent. The book also shows that no matter what happens something amazing might happen even in dark times. Even when you least expect it sometimes something good can occur, like Sky finding his family in other people and finding a boyfriend in Teddy. I also like how the book states no matter what happens you’re not alone in it and other people have been through what you’re going through. Sky’s whole “I don’t know if I’m comfortable being gay around other straight guys so I rather keep it to myself” is pretty realistic to me. I’m not fem but oftentimes I feel uncomfortable diving into how many guys I have been with, and how many bodies I have because it’s an unusual subject among guys. I get it… I truly do but I try to be brave and set a good example for other guys just like myself. The book doesn’t give off a romance story more like a “coming-of-age” story, even though Sky was crushing on Ali and later linking up with Teddy the whole thing became sidelined in favor of just focusing on Sky’s growth as a person and making more sense of himself which I applaud. It also doubles down on making the mistake of closing yourself off from other people and leaving them behind especially when they need you the most as Sky’s mother and Winter have done. Both had changed and matured differently with Sky’s mother becoming more secluded and religious while Winter became a stern but empathetic teacher although she still had yet to reconnect with her old friends. She even urged Sky to not make that same mistake and to fight to keep his friends and loved ones in his life instead of pushing them away.
Overall Score:
7/10
Characters:
Sky Baker: The main protagonist of the book. He is 17 years old & his name comes from his father. Sky comes from a very dysfunctional family, his parents were very young when they settled down and had children. His father was described by his best friend as an outsider as he much like Sky had aspirations to leave their closed-off hometown in Michigan and Sky’s mother was described by his older brother Gus to be a heavy smoker and tendency to use profane language. Unfortunately, Sky’s father Henry had died in a car crash when Sky was very young so Sky never truly remembered or knew of his father. The accident in particular caused a noticeable blemish to form on Sky’s chest which he affectionately named Mars. It’s because of “Mars” that Sky feels insecure and embarrassed to take his shirt off in front of other people including his best friends Bree and Marshall with his boyfriend Teddy (and seemingly Mrs. Brandstone) being the first people outside his family and doctors to witness the scar in person. After the accident, Sky’s family became even more estranged as his mother joined a conservative church and became a born-again Christian and his brother rarely visits with Sky even convinced that Gus hates him. His mother’s conservatism is what led her to in a way kick him out of the house as soon as she discovered he was gay causing Sky to stay with his best friend Bree and her family (who adores Sky). Sky’s dialogue suggests that he is either an atheist or agnostic. Sky also harbored a massive crush on Ali Rashid who affectionately referred to him as Sky High because of his height in the sixth grade and ability to rebound the basketball during gym class. Originally he intended to prompose to him at the Senior Bum-Beach Party but things had gotten complicated when the school bully Cliff humiliated and embarrassed Sky by hacking the e-blast and sending an email containing Sky’s promposal wall. Ahead of Ali admitting he doesn’t feel the same way, a devastated Sky moves on. With his yearbook teacher Winter’s help, Sky manages to connect with a very close friend of his late father who eventually becomes an Uncle figure to Sky and Sky begins to find a real family in the Brandstones, Charlie, and his friends Bree and Marshall. He also finds a new love interest in the form of Teddy who promposes to Sky. Although still estranged from his family and still not very fond of his hometown, Sky begins to realize that it isn’t as bad as he originally thought as he realizes that there are indeed people outside his family that deeply care about him and things begin to work out better for him as time progressed. By the end of the book, Sky has received a scholarship to enable him to attend community college, began dating Teddy, and had gotten a job working at Charlie’s boyfriend’s tattoo shop.
Bree Brandstone: One of Sky’s best friends alongside Marshall and has a sisterly relationship with Sky to the point where the 2 are practically inseparable (humorously the Brandstones even question Bree’s whereabouts whenever Sky shows up alone). Like Sky and Marshall, Bree enjoys watching movies and often heads down to Traverse City to watch them at a local mall. Although Bree hails from a big family and is the eldest of 4 siblings, she and her family didn’t particularly mind taking Sky in when his mother kicked him out of the house with Bree insisting her family is “crazy for [him]”. Sky also states that the Brandstones live in a more upper-class suburb at Rock Ledge with nicer houses and lush plant life with Lake Michigan being only a walk away. At school, Bree serves as editor-in-chief for the yearbook class she, Sky, Marshall, and Ali take together and often works very hard in her position which sometimes causes her to bail on outings with her friends. She has also dated and is in a relationship with Dan, a new Student at Rock Ledge High School and was the only person at the time well aware of him being a Transgender Male and frequently gets frustrated whenever people make assumptions about him being gay due to his closed-off nature even snapping at Marshall at one point due to it. She also like Sky and Ali has a bad history with Cliff who frequently tries to come onto her despite her numerous rejections and believes his harassment of Sky is his way to get back at Bree for rejecting him. It comes to a point where Bree refuses to acknowledge Cliff by name. However speaking to her younger sister Claire, Bree decides to let her anger over him go and shrugs off Cliff’s desire to reconcile encouraging Sky to do whatever makes him happy.
Marshall Jones: One of Sky’s best friends alongside Bree, he is one of the few black people that live in Rock Ledge, is physically fit, and takes up track alongside his friend Teddy. Unknown to Marshall, Sky’s insecurities keep him from expressing his true feelings and personality due to Marshall’s frequent talking about his girlfriend, Ainsley. Unknown to Sky, Marshall was also trying to set up a plan for Teddy to prompose to Sky. Marshall is shown to be pretty tech-savvy and great with computers desiring to take up computer programming in college. Often he does maintenance for the yearbook class. His father is also fiercely protective of Marshall due to the racial stereotypes and the fact that living in a conservative town with barely any people of color is highly dangerous. Although Marshall is often annoyed with his overbearing nature at the same time he and his friends are flattered by it since he also looks out for them as well.
Ali Rashid: Sky’s former love interest and close friend. He has known him since the 6th grade. Throughout the book he serves as a driving point of the plot as Sky had intentions to prompose to him at the Senior Party in April even though he is straight and likely doesn’t reciprocate the feelings. Ali is also incredibly nice to Sky and affectionately refers to him as “Sky High” since he was able to rebound the basketball in 6th-grade gym and was much taller than the other students at the time, although one of the most popular students in Rock Ledge High School (in Sky’s point of view), Ali is also a subject to bullying and discrimination due to him being of Middle-Eastern descent and was once called a terrorist by Cliff for accidentally stepping on his shoes. Ali also has aspirations for Improv and even joined a barely acknowledged club at school specializing in the field. When he finds out about Sky’s feelings for Ali on his promposal wall (after being outed by Cliff and his acquaintances as a cruel joke) he later admits to Sky that he has a crush on Bree and does not return the feelings. Despite this revelation, he remained a loyal close friend and ally to Sky agreeing to take part in his scheme for revenge. Sky has also lost feelings for Ali after vomiting in Winter’s class although he suggests at the end that he’s not truly over Ali (I get that!). Ali remained very supportive of Sky and seemed excited when Teddy promposed to him.
Teddy: Marshall’s Track Friend and new love interest of Sky. He is described by Sky as physically fit, at least 6’3 with a deep voice, and gives off straight-passing vibes enough to even intimidate Sky into closing himself off a bit. Unknown to Sky, Teddy has a massive crush on him and has been flirting and trying to reach common ground but Sky (still crushing on Ali) does not pick up on the signals until he finally promposed. He also has a scar under his armpit from an incident involving glass and showed it to Sky when he saw “Mars” for the first time. By the month after the Senior Beach Party, they appear to be dating (if not already in an official relationship).
Penelope Winter: One of Sky’s teachers who hosts a yearbook club, she’s from Rock Ledge originally but is well-traveled and has been all over the world even backpacking through South America at one point and living all over America and working numerous odd jobs. She later returned to Rock Ledge because she, as puts it, “grew up” and became a teacher at Rock Ledge High School. Unknown to Sky, Winter has revealed herself to be very close with Sky’s father Henry as well as Charlie much like how Sky is with Bree and Marshall. However, her desires to escape Rock Ledge and travel the world caused her to neglect her friends and she seemed remorseful for not being able to keep both Henry and Charlie in her life, especially after Henry’s death. In the present time, she is shown to be quite empathetic to her students and very understanding though she can be playfully strict at times. Her empathy and willingness to stand up for what’s right even enables her to stand up to fellow authority figures such as Principal Burger (who is essentially her boss) and did not hesitate to call him out when he did not investigate the e-blast hack further despite promising her he would. She was even willing to host her own prom for her yearbook students when Burger essentially banned Sky, Ali, and most of their supporters from arriving at the school prom. Although reasonably strict and as a teacher she advised against profane language and excessive drinking, she holds a soft spot for Sky due to her connection with his father and sympathizes with his situation enough to have him reconnect with Charlie to give him closure about his late father and risk exposing her relationship with Henry much to Sky’s shock. Her reasoning for pressuring Sky into fighting for Bree and Marshall to stay in his life is to keep him from making the same mistake Winter did due to her desire to leave Rock Ledge.
Dr. Charlie Washington: A gay man who lives in Traverse City with his boyfriend Brian. He was also best friends with with Sky’s father, Henry who was the first person to accept Charlie when he came out as Gay. Penelope Winter also revealed herself to be close friends with Henry and Charlie however Winter’s desire to escape Rock Ledge led to her losing contact with Charlie and Henry. He’s a dermatologist at a local clinic. He’s physically described as less muscular (implied twunk) than Brian and a bit of a perfectionist with “salt & pepper” hair. He also appears to like Tennis as a hobby. He revealed that he went to Med School in Evanston, Chicago during his time in undergrad & med school with Henry even visiting all the time. After Sky’s humiliating E-blast had gotten out, Winter left Sky her yearbook to suggest he find Charlie knowing he has a history with Sky’s father and could help quail Sky’s turmoil. Under the alias Justin (and claims to sell him a yearbook ad), he meets with Charlie and is touched by the revelation of Henry being supportive of Charlie’s sexuality. Henry described him as tough for being able to come out to their heavily conservative community so much so that his words inspired Sky to try and be more braver about his sexuality. Eventually through Sky’s burn scar blemish “Mars”, Charlie was able to piece together that “Justin” is Sky. Now knowing his true identity, Charlie connects with Sky over his father. It turns out the reason why Sky has no memories of Charlie is because his mother had closed off from everybody including her husband’s loved ones after the accident which saddens Sky but he was ultimately unsurprised given his mother’s current behavior. Nevertheless, both men are happy to get to know each other currently and Sky realizes he indeed has family in Charlie. Weeks after the promposal, Charlie and Brian have become uncle figures to Sky, opening their home to him whenever he needs it, and (to Brian’s elation) both Charlie and Sky get tattoos of Henry’s initials to remember him by and always keep a part Henry with them.
Brian: Charlie’s boyfriend whom he met at some point after high school. He owns a tattoo shop and is covered in tattoos. He is described to be “bulkier” than his boyfriend, possesses a beard, and is considered attractive to both Sky and Bree. Personality-wise he is shown to be relatively sweet and affectionate despite his “tough” exterior and got along famously with Sky and Teddy. He offers Sky a job as a receptionist at his tattoo shop which he accepts and as a bonus allows Sky to stay with them whenever he needs to partially due to the long drive. To his elation, he was able to give his boyfriend a tattoo of his best friend at request along with Sky to cover up his burn scar.
Dan Christiansen: A transgender male student and Bree’s boyfriend. Originally he was closed off from most people except Bree who was very close to him. The reason for this is because he was navigating through his coming out experience and figuring out how to come out to his new school. In his old school, he was subjected to bullying and harassment for coming out which led to him transferring to a new school. However, although people respectfully refer to Dan as a male, deep down he is aware most people aren’t aware he is trans and his closed-off nature makes him appear as the new kid with something to hide. Unable to bring Bree into his coming-out scene, he briefly breaks up with her causing her sour mood to distract her which enabled Cliff to hack and send a homophobic and racist e-blast. Eventually, he and Bree get back together, and inspired by Sky’s boldness to stand up to Cliff and his cronies, Dan makes more of an active effort to come out to Sky and start the Gay Lesbian or Whatever Club (GLOW) which is a Gay-Straight alliance community at the school with Sky being the only other person he has told with more other people coming around gradually. With Dan’s help, GLOW is successfully established at the school with the new biology teacher serving as the advisor.
Mrs. Baker: Sky and Gus’ absent, widowed mother. Minus Sky flashbacking and various mentions, she doesn’t “physically” appear in the book. Before her husband’s death during the car accident, her eldest Gus described her as a heavy smoker with the tendency to swear constantly. Following the accident, Sky described her as not the same and often distant enough that even Gus barely enjoys being home with her. She had joined a heavily conservative church and became a born-again Christian. Charlie also revealed that she cut ties with much of Henry’s family and loved ones as she only spoke with him to seek some medical advice on treating Sky’s burn scar. She did not approve of her son’s sexuality and had in a way kicked him out of the house and barely kept contact with him. It is implied her perspectives have been warped over time (to the point of delusions) as she believed her late husband would also disagree with Sky’s homosexuality but this later turned out to be false. She does however send her “support” via text when Sky’s Promposal Wall to Ali was ousted. Later in the book, Gus (acting as a liaison and medium between the 2) helps set up a meeting with Sky to settle things and allow Sky to return home (Gus proclaimed it was her idea). However, she backs out at the last minute unable to face him, and even has Gus suggest that Sky join a church program to come home thus revealing the whole thing to be a conditional ultimatum. Naturally, Sky refuses and loses hope in his mother ever coming around, and worse her unwillingness to reconnect with her family caused his and Gus’ relationship to become even more strained than it already was. Upon learning of her cutting off ties with Henry’s loved ones, Sky was reasonably upset but ultimately unsurprised. In the weeks following Sky implies that he disowned his mother for her actions.
Henry Baker: Sky and Gus’ late father. He had perished in a car accident when Sky was very young so he hardly has memories of him only knowing him through others such as his mom. Before meeting his wife, Henry was also what Sky and Charlie consider “an outsider” as he rejected a lot of the conservative natures of his community in Rock Ledge and wanted to escape much like his son Sky. He was described by Charlie as something of a class clown but with a “heart of gold”. His best friend was Charlie and Henry was explained to be in awe with Charlie’s decision to come out of the closet with Henry being the first person he told. He immortalized his feelings in his high school yearbook leaving behind a quote that said “Charlie Was the toughest guy I know” out of respect for Charlie. He was also really close with Sky’s teacher, Penelope Winter but he had lost contact with her when she left Rock Ledge due to her desire to escape and see the world. She felt a sense of remorse for not being able to reconnect with Henry and Charlie before the former’s untimely death and encouraged Sky to not make the same mistake of neglecting his friends. Despite Charlie moving to study higher education, Henry would often visit and express desires to escape Rock Ledge. However, his aspirations never came to be when he married young and had 2 sons Gus and Sky. Charlie even implied he wasn’t entirely happy with his marriage, his widowed wife’s distorted view of him seems to highlight this since she suggested that Henry was as homophobic as she was when this turned out to not be the case given his friendship with Charlie. Nevertheless, his death seems to have impacted their family heavily as Gus rarely spends time at home (with Sky even convinced that he hates him), his wife had become very distant and closed off even from Henry’s family and loved ones, her perceptions about reality and beliefs had caused her to drive away her remaining family as she refused to accept or even reconcile with their youngest and didn’t hesitate to kick him out forcing him to live “practically homeless” with his best friend Bree and her family, and finally Sky barely knew anything about his father only remembering the crash where he died and Sky received his burn scar that he affectionately referred to as Mars. However, with Winter’s help, he managed to gain some closure by connecting with Charlie and finding out exactly the type of man his father was without biased opinions or warped perceptions.
Gus Baker: Sky’s older brother and Henry’s firstborn son. Compared to Sky, due to his age, he remembers more about his father and his mother’s early life before their tragic accident and the former’s death. Gus appears to be estranged from his family and hardly ever visits in part due to his mother’s distant nature & conservatism and barely connects with his younger brother with Sky even being convinced that he hates him although Gus still keeps close tabs on his hometown as news travels relatively quickly in their community. Although Gus tries to serve as a medium between his brother and mother when she offers to try and reconnect with her son it unfortunately falls through when she refuses to show up to the restaurant where they wanted to meet and make amends unless Sky goes to what appears to be a “Christian camp” (implied to be a straight camp). To make matters worse this further complicates his relationship with Sky when he angrily lashes out at him for shouting at his fiancé Chelsea and calling him a faggot.
Cliff Norquest: A narcissistic bully in Rock Ledge High School and the main antagonist of the book. He frequently belittles, mocks, and otherwise embarrasses Sky for his homosexuality. His obnoxious attitude has earned him ire from both the teachers and fellow students alike but is hyped up by his fellow jock friends. He also holds disdain for Ali obnoxiously referring to him as a terrorist and Bree for rejecting his advances to the point where she hates addressing him by name. Cliff’s behavior psychologically reminds Sky of his mother thus making Sky feel even worse. In an effort to further belittle and mess with Sky (& Bree by proxy), Cliff elaborately cyberattacks Sky, Bree, and Ali by hacking the e-blast that was sent out to hundreds of parents and students which would be sent out to their whole town since news travels fast. The post in particular contains an image of Sky’s promposal wall to Ali and a picture of Sky and Ali together specifically calling Ali a terrorist and Sky a faggot. While this succeeded in hurting Sky’s feelings, with Winter’s help, Sky becomes inspired to further mess with and get back at Cliff by humoring his post and counting the days down all the while connecting the dots to incriminate him of his deed. However, in a shocking turn of events Cliff randomly has a change of heart and confesses his involvement in the e-blast supposedly due to being consumed by the guilt (though the group is not convinced) leading to his “anticlimactic” downfall as he is silently suspended by Winter and Principal Burger. Weeks later he begins to have a change of heart and attempts to reconcile with Sky and apologizes to Dan for the e-blast and shockingly requests Dan inform him of Cliff’s desires to talk to Sky & Ali. Naturally, Sky is conflicted about doing so due to the trouble and frustration Cliff caused with his E-Blast but acknowledges Cliff’s effort, unlike his distant mother.
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