Noah York is a closeted gay teenager with a foul mouth, a critical disposition, and plenty of material for his tirades. After his father's death, Noah's mother, a temperamental poet, takes a teaching job in a small New Hampshire town, far from Chicago and the only world Noah has known.

While Noah gets along reasonably with his mother, the crumbling house they try to renovate quickly reveals dark secrets, via dusty Mason jars they discover interred between walls. The jars contain scraps of letters, poems, and journal entries, and eventually reconstruct a history of pain and violence that drives a sudden wedge between Noah and his mother.

Fortunately, Noah finds an unexpected ally in J.D., a teenager down the street who has family troubles of his own. It is J.D. who begins to quietly anchor Noah to his new life, a relationship that sends shockwaves throughout the town.

Part Portnoy, part Holden Caulfield, never less than truthful, and always fully human, Noah York is a touching and unforgettable character. His story is one of hope and heartbreak, love and redemption, of holding on to old wounds when new skin is what's needed, and of the power of growing up whole once every secret has been set free.