Mercer Buddie wants two things in this world: a girlfriend and the chance to prove to his master falconer father that he's not a flake. With hunting season fast approaching, fourteen-year-old Mercer has only a short time to work with Flip, a red-tailed hawk he irreverently named to show his dad that falconers don't have to be so serious all the time. When Mercer meets Lucy, he falls hard for her gorgeous looks and bubbly personality. He thinks his love life is about to take flight, until he discovers that Lucy and her family belong to a fanatical animal-rights organization called HALTa group that believes imposing any sort of restrictions on animals is a form of cruelty. Mercer soon realizes that if he wants to keep seeing Lucy, he'll need to keep his love of falconry and his family's raptor rehabilitation center a secret from her, and Lucy's involvement with HALT from his family. With humor and honesty, Mercer's story shows how growing up means making difficult choicesand sometimes, being rewarded in unexpected ways.

Kym Brunner is the author of the YA novels Wanted: Dead or In Love and One Smart Cookie. She teaches seventh grade reading and language arts in a suburb of Chicago. Visit her website at .