"No other writer has captured the essential truths about illness with as much clarity." -Annie Dillard

Other Titles

Probabilities Will Sterling is 16 and "confused by nearly everything." His mid-fiftyish mom has been dating since Will's father died three years ago: she dates more than Will does! Each weekend, Will drives from New Jersey to Connecticut to stay with the Kean family because fortyish Terri Kean is his surrogate mother, mentor, and fantasy soul mate. At school, Sara is his lifesaver, but she has a boyfriend and seems to want more from Will than he has been able to give. African American Billy, whose father is also dead, and other basketball players provide male companionship for Will, who's quasi-competent on the court. The late Mr. Sterling, a scientist, taught Will lots about science, but not much about himself or life. Will valiantly tries to grasp life using probability theory, but, "All I had was intuition, which, as my father liked to say, was the enemy of probability." This first novel from Stein, a physician whose fiction has appeared in Three Penny Review, Salmagundi, and other publications, celebrates Will's capacity to search out the resources he needs, and the growth he experiences through coping with the cards he was dealt. -Booklist