Stark is a boy who was born with one ear. His other ear is squashed up against his head. Not only that, but he's very lanky, earning him the nickname Stick. His parents abuse him and his brother, Bosten, but that's what they're used to. That's their normal. They're really close, and they have a bond between them that doesn't break. When Stick finds out Bosten is gay, he doesn't really mind, but a few weeks later when his dad finds out, it becomes a big deal. Bosten runs away, and Stick leaves to find him. This book is a bit like The Perks of being a Wallflower in the fact that Stick and Charlie learn about what's considered normal. They start off as really shy kids, Charlie because that's his nature and Stick because he's self conscious about his ear. But slowly they start to grow up, physically and mentally. Stick gets a crush on his best friend, Emily, and Charlie starts liking Sam. They learn from their crushes. They both have problems in their lives; Stick is abused by his family and Charlie has PTSD from being molested as a child. Yet they still manage to overcome the obstacles in their path. Stick is a good book for people to realize that we're not all the same, and that people everyday get subjected to abuse and yet we still have to move on. I liked it because, like Rage, it faced problems in out world head on.
