"King of the Screwups" by K.L. Going

"You can't create love, Liam. You just have to take it wherever you can find it."

According to Liam Geller, Liam Geller is a perpetual screw-up. He has been since childhood and he knows he always will be. If he could just stop making mistakes, he knows that his father would be the type of father he has always wanted - one that cares and takes an active interest in his life.

After one too many transgressions, Liam's father kicks him out of the house. Against his homophobic father's wishes, he goes to live with his cross-dressing, gay glam-rocker Aunt Pete in the small town of Pineville. He sets out on a mission to become unpopular, reinvent himself and prove to his dad that his interests lie in other places besides girls and drinking.

This book was a refreshing retreat from some of the hard-hitting YA fiction I've been reading lately - although it's not without a healthy dose of conflict. It's blatantly obvious to everyone but Liam that his dad is a jerk and at certain points, it's almost heartbreaking to hear Liam blame himself as he relives instances since childhood where he has inadvertently disappointed his father.

Yes, this book is as crazy as it sounds. And yes, while they have lots of heart, the characters aren't always believable. But the message is clear - there comes a point where you have to stop trying to please someone who simply can't be pleased, even if it's your own father. Unfortunately, that's a big part of growing up.