Pre-Owned The Arizona Kid (Hardcover) 0763625426 9780763625429

A trip out West to work at a racetrack -- and a sojourn with a sophisticated gay uncle -- bring unexpected discoveries in this quick-witted coming-of-age novel by the author of STONER & SPAZ and MARGAUX WITH AN X. From the moment sixteen-year-old Billy steps off the train in Tucson, he knows this will be a summer unlike any he's seen in small-town Bradleyville, Missouri. For starters, he's staying with his cool gay uncle, who has managed to get him a job at the racetrack caring for horses. Still, Billy doesn't expect the horseracing world to be quite as rough and tumble as this -- toiling side by side with a macho survivalist and falling hard for the feisty, romance-shy exercise girl Cara Mae. With his trademark fast-paced dialogue filled with wit and compassion, Ron Koertge tells the tale of an insecure teen who discovers that gaining stature involves more than Stetsons and boots -- and that lessons on love and manhood come from the places you least expect.