The Boy Scouts of Lakeville High

It's 1920, and the Boy Scouts aren't just an afterschool activity. They're a way of life, a code, a tribe that every boy wants to belong to. When Rodman Cree transfers to Lakeville High, he arrives with the particular dread of the new kid: too awkward, too uncertain, not sure where he fits. A clumsy encounter involving a stuck shoe and a rescued kitten gets him through his first day, and introduces him to Molly Sefton, who sees something in him that he cannot yet see in himself. Rodman desperately wants to join the Scout Patrol, but his lack of athletic skill makes him feel like an impostor. Molly believes in him, and that belief becomes the spark for everything that follows. This is a period piece that captures the Boy Scout movement at its cultural height, yes, but more than that, it's a story about the ache of wanting to belong and the courage it takes to try. For readers who love vintage coming-of-age tales, this is a small, warm artifact of a more earnest era.