GREEN EYES AND HAM

Ham must choose between fitting in and staying true to himself in Eleven and Holding author Mary Penney's latest classic coming of age story, perfect for fans of Lindsey Stoddard.

After a lifetime of being homeschooled, Ham Hudson is hoping that a new year in a new school will help make him a whole new Ham - one with friends his own age and a life outside of the small community he's grown up in.

Instead, he's saddled with an arch nemesis to avoid, a confusing and exhausting social sphere to navigate, and a whole host of new insecurities to add to his old ones.

But then Ham meets Micah. Sympathetic and effortlessly cool, Micah quickly becomes a lifeline in a confusing new world. Ham wants Micah to think he belongs - to want him around as much as Ham wants to be around him.

The more that Ham tries to fit in, the less he recognizes himself. When things start to unravel, Ham has to decide - is fitting in worth changing who he wants to be?

Mary Penney is a US Army veteran and works full-time for the Department of Veteran Affairs. Mary lives in Santa Barbara with her four-legged children who love to sleep, play practical jokes, and throw up hairballs. Mary loves to swim (badly), practice yoga (stiffly), and walk (into lots of things). Despite all that, she is deeply grateful for all her Irish good luck, and especially for being able to write novels for kids.