The Book of Ralph: A Novel. This item is unavailable.The Book of Ralph: A Novel

Promising eighth-grade student Hank forges an unlikely friendship with troublemaker Ralph, who with a pair of older cousins encourages Hank to engage in unscrupulous activities in their 1978 southwest Chicago neighborhood that set the groundwork for more serious behaviors in their adult lives. 25,000 first printing.

John McNally is the author of two novels, The Book of Ralph and America's Report Card, and a short story collection, Troublemakers. His next book, Ghosts of Chicago, a collection of short stories, will be published this fall. A native of Chicago, he lives with his wife, Amy, in North Carolina, where he is associate professor of English at Wake Forest University. The first word he ever spoke was "Batman," who has remained, in his darker incarnations, his favorite superhero. John's first creative work, a play written in the fourth grade, featured an overweight superhero who gets stuck inside a phone booth while changing into his costume. He is happy to return to the genre, albeit thirty-four years later.