Written by Josh Berk, this young adult novel tells the story of Will Halpin, an overweight deaf teenager when he decides to leave his school for the deaf and attend a public high school. Despite being a target for bullies and regarded an outcast for his deafness and weight, he finds a friend in Smiley, another outcast. However, Will's hopes/plans for a normal year of high school go down the toilet when the school's star quarterback and resident Jerk Jock ends up dead, with Smiley (who was bullied by him relentlessly) as the main suspect. To clear Smiley's name (and maybe look cool in front of Leah, Will's crush), the duo decide to crack the case.
Tropes in this novel include:
- Abandoned Mine: The catalyst for the story's events come from Will and Smiley's class taking a field trip to one of these. The school bully is found dead at the bottom of the shaft.
- Adults Are Useless: The school has a serious bullying problem, the algebra teacher has been in a sexual relationship with one of her students for who knows how long, the bus driver is a drug dealer, and the only time anyone addresses the fact that Smiley was regularly bullied was to point fingers at him as the most likely suspect in his bully's murder. Even the police aren't immune to this, as they only get anything done when tipped off by Will and Smiley (who do so via anonymous tips so they won't get caught). Also, none of the teachers make anything easy for Will, as they conveniently forget that he needs to see their lips to tell what they're saying.
- Alpha Bitch: Subverted with Leah and Purple. They are the popular girls and best friends, but Purple's popularity comes mainly from her wealth and association with Leah, as she's a stereotypical spoiled whiny rich girl. Leah, however, is beautiful and generally nice (although she still ignores Will because everyone else does).
- Asshole Victim: While it's hard to say that anyone deserves to be shoved down a mine shaft to their death, it's hard to feel bad for Chambers: he relentlessly bullied other students, he had coerced more than half of the girls in his class into sleeping with him, he was engaged in a "sexual liason" with his algebra teacher (who was twice his age), and he got his on-again-off-again girlfriend Leah pregnant, and started beating her when she refused to abort the baby.
- Creepy Red Herring: The bus driver, nicknamed "Jimmy Porkrinds" by Will, talks to his fingers and deals drugs as a side-gig, but he had nothing to do with Chambers' murder.
- Deadpan Snarker: Will, through the narration and his texts with Smiley, proves himself to be one of these.
- Disability Immunity: Smiley learns that he, Will, and Will's ex-girlfriend Ebony (who Smiley gets a crush on) can break in to the school to watch the police's interrogation tapes (made while interrogating the students about Chambers' death). However, there's still faculty in the school on Saturdays, so they won't be able to use the volume. Fortunately, Will and Ebony (who's as deaf as he is) are experts at lip-reading, meaning they can tell what the interviewees are saying without sound.
- Drives Like Crazy: Smiley
- Handicapped Badass: Ebony's not only a beautiful and smart girl, but she's a martial artist capable of taking down a man twice her size. Oh, and she's completely deaf.
- Hidden Depths: It's revealed in the climax that Purple knows ASL thanks to her having a deaf uncle. Thus, she's able to translate for Will when he reveals he knows who the killer is.
- Jerk Jock: Chambers, full stop.
- Odd Friendship: At first, Will isn't sure if he wants to be friends with the one person at school less popular than he is. Once he gives him a chance, though, the two actually become great friends (although Will still thinks that Smiley's a little weird).
- Silent Snarker: Will doesn't speak with words, but he manages to convey how he feels fairly well through texts and facial expressions.
- Sucky School: Most of the teachers clearly don't want to be there (and neither do the students), one of the bus drivers is a drug dealer, the algebra teacher was having a sexual relationship with one of her students, there's a severe bullying problem, few equities are made for Will (despite his being totally deaf), and the school makes fried ravioli that makes half the student body sick.
- Tragic Villain: While their actions can't be justified, the murderer was in the end pushed over the edge by Chambers... so they pushed him over the edge.
