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Dress Codes for Small Towns

A YA book set in a small town in which the main character, a preacher’s kid, does not hate either the town or being a preacher’s kid. In which the group of friends at the story’s heart feels both exceptional and ordinary and authentic. At the center of it all is Billie McCaffrey, who may be in love with both of her best friends, Wood and Janie Lee; who dresses in jeans and combat boots and creates large-object art in her garage; who is part of a group of six friends who call themselves the Hexagon and are as adept at creating community as causing havoc. The Hexagon’s efforts to save Otter Falls’ annual Harvest Festival and Corn Dolly competition—both of which are presented with astonishing appreciation through Billie’s eyes—is the storyline around which Billie and her friends make discoveries about themselves and one another in a novel that is funny and poignant and probing by turns as it examines sexuality, gender, friendship, love, and family, all with remarkable little angst in spite of some serious soul searching. ©2017 Cooperative Children's Book Center

CCBC Age Recommendation: Age 13 and older
Age Range: Grades 6-8 (Ages 11-13) Grades 9-12 (Age 14 and older)
Format: Novel
Subjects: Art and Artists Bisexuals Christian People Community Faith, Spirituality and Religion Friendship Humor LGBTQ+ Persons Love and Romance Small Town Life
Diversity subject: Christian LGBTQ Character/Topic

Publisher: HarperTeen
Publish Year: 2017
Pages: 337
ISBN: 9780062398512

CCBC Location: Fiction, Stevens

Dress Codes for Small Towns