Excerpt from Holding Up the Universe by Jennifer Niven, plus links to reviews, author biography & more

All this fuss over a girl who, if we're being honest, looked so much like Caroline Lushamp that—at least at first—I thought it was her, which means in some weird way Caroline should be flattered. It's like admitting to the world that I want to get back together with her even though she dumped me the first week of summer so that she could go out with Zach Higgins.

I think of texting this to her, but instead I turn off my phone and close my eyes and see if I can't transport myself right back into July. The only thing I had to worry about then was going to work, scavenging the local scrap yard, building (mind-blowing) projects in my (kick-ass) workshop, and hanging out with my brothers. Life would be so much easier if it was just Jack + scrap yard + kick-ass workshop + mind-blowing projects.

You should never have gone to the party. You should never have had a drink. You know you can't be trusted. Avoid alcohol. Avoid crowds. Avoid people. You only end up pissing them off.

Excerpted from Holding Up the Universe by Jennifer Niven. Copyright © 2016 by Jennifer Niven. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.