A heartfelt novel from the award-winning author of Aristotle & Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe On the surface Ramiro Lopez & Jake Upthegrove couldn't live more different lives Ram is Mexican-American lives in the poor section of town & is doing his best to keep his mother sane while his brother fights off a drug-induced coma Jake is a WASP who drives a nice car lives in a mansion & has a mother who drinks a bit too much & a step-father who cheats on her But there is one point one issue where their lives are exactly the same; their fathers walked out on them when they were just young boys & at this convergence Ram & Jake see how everything in their lives is just a little bit similar because they both blame everything that goes wrong on the one thing they actually have in common