Funny Little Monkey [Paperback]

Arty may be shorter--much shorter--than your average teen, but that doesn't mean his problems are small. If anything, they're huge. Whether he is dodging the fists of his hulking twin brother, dealing with the other misfits in his school, or falling in love for the first time, Arty lives his life looking up--and gives readers unusual perspective on becoming a man.
     This acclaimed debut novel is hilarious, offbeat, surprisingly moving, and sure to appeal to teens of all sizes.

Meet Arty--a tiny teen with BIG problems . . . and an even bigger mouth.

[star] Darkly comic . . . The author taps into the painful experience of high school,
leavened with healthy doses of hyperbole, hope and wry humor--which Auseon seems to understand just may be the best tools
for teenage survival. --Publishers Weekly(starred review)
Strikingly clever. --Booklist

That Sweet Big Feeling
I stand inside the bedroom closet, back cocked up tall against the closet wall. The tape measure sings the same old song:

four feet two inches tall.

Then into the bedroom, the minifridge, and I take out the small leather case, the cartridges. I keep the needles in an old mitten, one of those kinds without separate fingers but one big pocket for everybody. I rip apart a new bag of cotton balls. A box of Band-Aids lays open, bandages stacked like a deck of cards. I unscrew the lid from the bottle of rubbing alcohol and feel the stench tug at my nose hairs.

Cartridges of growth hormone click against one another as I arrange them on the desktop. I pick one up and disinfect the rubber disk on the tip with alcohol. Then I jab the tip of the needle into the cartridge. Holding the tube firmly, I pull out the plunger and watch the hormone get sucked out. It's not cloudy, or discolored, or floating with junk or anything-it's perfect. I point the syringe at the ceiling. Then I flick the end and mal³