Teenage drama and finding your place in the world.

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Hudson Wheeler has felt like his teacher that wrote him a note home to his saying that he was "going places." Unfortunately, he hasn't accomplished much of anything since then but he is bound and determined to do so. Hudson is 17, going on 18, and he is finally a senior in high school. He begs his mom to let him be a homeschooler so he can focus on writing his graphic novel and run his two businesses (a dog walking service and Distress Dial, his service for elderly for services just short of an emergency). The only classes that he has to take in school this year is yoga and art class. In the meantime, Hudson struggles to make time for his crush Alana, his friend Fritzy, the many eccentric and interesting Distress Dial customers, the strange and funny dogs from his dog walking business and all of the in and outs of being a teenager in high school trying to find himself.

I liked the story but at times the plot was very slow and, to be honest, I found much of the story boring. I liked Hudson but he was a bit of a pushover, especially when it came to Alana, but the phrase "love is blind" is as true now as ever. I really liked Fritzy but I feel like she was underestimated and underappreciated by Hudson for what she was, loyal to a fault. Even when he ditched her to help Alana, Fritzy stayed friends with Hudson and accepted him with all of his faults and failings. I also think Hudson was being extremely unfair to his mother most of the story too. She worked hard as a nurse to provide for Hudson and he never seemed to care much about her or her daily struggles. I know teens are selfish but he was supposed to be more intelligent that that and it seemed like he cared more for Alana, Fritzy, and his customers than his mom. I also liked Mr. Pirkle. He reminded me of a mixture of my maternal and paternal grandfathers because both of my grandfathers were in the military and two different wars. A good book but definitely not my favorite.