Arthur Berndt has just become a teenager. No small accomplishment considering he's been at war with his father, society, and himself since he began to walk. Abused by August, his father, Arthur is still afraid to openly confront his tormentor. Instead, out of resentment, he continues to commit antisocial acts that only serve to make him a pariah in the community and a black sheep in his family's eyes. The other members of his family-Marguerite, his mother, and Ruth and Liz, his sisters-cope with the oppressive atmosphere at home in their own way by popping antacid pills, overachieving, and drinking, respectively.

School is the only place where Arthur has ever experienced some sense of fitting in. That flirtation with normalcy will now put to the test as being a teenager only heightens Arthur's longstanding feeling that there is something wrong with him.

Enduring sexual assault at the hands of his employer, committing arson as payback against a hostile neighbor, and stumbling upon a dead mobster: these are all a part of Arthur's experience in his first full year as a teenager. He also inadvertently walks in on his sister's suicide attempt. Throughout all this chaos, Arthur finds time to court a fellow outsider-a Native American girl. Read Arthur: A Year in his Life. You'll be shocked and entertained by this kid's edgy lifestyle.