Is There a Boy Like Me?

A powerful novel that challenges the limitations and pressures placed on boys today.

London feels stuck. His school friends think he’s this confident kid who likes video games and will kick your butt if you get on his bad side. His high-achieving parents think he’s a genius coder and are pushing him to pursue that as a future career. None of this is true. London feels anxiety in crowds, and what he really wants to do is be by himself and read books. Not knowing what else to do, London starts an anonymous online comic called “Is There A Boy Like Me,” where he expresses his true feelings and explores what his life would be like if he could just be who he wanted to be. When the comic goes viral, it starts a global conversation about what being a boy really means, with London directly in the middle of it all.

KERN CARTER is a novelist who is celebrated for his captivating storytelling. With books such as And Then There Was Us, Boys and Girls Screaming and Is There a Boy Like Me?, his stories explore themes of family, friendship and the drama that can fracture those relationships. Kern has built a devoted readership not just for his novels, but for his writing on the intersection between literature and popular culture, both historically and through a contemporary lens. Kern also teaches professional writing at the college level, hosts workshops on craft and storytelling and is in-demand as a public speaker for his expertise on creative culture. He is based in Toronto.