Badger's Rules

By Michael McCluskey

Badger is a high school overachiever living in constant fear-fear of being exposed as gay, fear of setting off his dad's explosive temper, but most of all, fear of getting anything less than perfect grades. He hides those fears behind an exhausting set of rules that keep his secrets safe. Freedom is within sight. All he needs to do is coast to the finish line: graduation. A new neighbor named Josh moves in during senior year. Reckless, kind, and impossible to keep at arm's length, Josh breaks through all of those rules and rejects the mere notion of coasting.

Overnight sleepovers, morning swims, and a snowmobiling adventure to Michigan's Upper Peninsula deepen their bond and turn both of their worlds upside down. For the first time, Badger imagines a life not ruled by fear. But Josh has been hiding something-a dangerous secret that forces Badger to make an impossible choice moments before he is to deliver his commencement speech.

BADGER'S RULES is a standalone YA contemporary novel that combines the emotional gut-punch of Adam Silvera's They Both Die at the End with the tender, transformative romance of Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: B0HFQDZF5V
• ISBN13: 9798997111601
• Release Date: August 2026
• Publisher: Entecha, LLC
• Length: 242 Pages
• Weight: 0.57 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 5.5" x 8.5"
• Age Range: 13 to 18 years
• Grade Range: Grade 8 to Postsecondary