Tennyson Sternberger

Tennyson is the sixteen-year-old twin brother of Bronte. Tennyson and Bronte's parents are literature professors at the local university, therefore they have been named after famous writers. Tennyson is fairly popular at school and is a star athlete in lacrosse. When Tennyson learns that his sister is going out with Brewster Rawlins, an antisocial boy from their school who is known as the bruiser, Tennyson is not happy. Tennyson makes an attempt to break them up, but when Bronte convinces him that Brewster is not what Tennyson thought he was, he tries to get to know Brewster. What Tennyson learns is surprising.

Tennyson discovers that Brewster and his brother live with an uncle who is very abusive. Brewster takes on most of the responsibilities of the household because of his uncle's unwillingness or inability to do it himself. This leaves Brewster with very little free time to...