Holes in the Sides

Fourteen-year-old Van Nobel knows how to spot a real skater: just check the holes in their shoes. Unfortunately, those same holes also collect burrs, dirt, and embarrassment — which pretty much sums up Van’s life.

What he doesn’t know is how to survive high school without becoming memorable for all the wrong reasons.

After a disastrous homemade haircut leaves a salamander-shaped disaster shaved into his scalp, Van starts freshman year hiding beneath a sloth skateboard hat and hoping nobody notices him. Instead, he finds himself swept into a strange, hilarious, and unexpectedly heartfelt year filled with eccentric neighbors, runaway chickens, orchestra rehearsals, embarrassing nosebleeds, awkward crushes, and friendships he never saw coming.

There’s Emmanuel, the impulsive new friend who somehow makes Van feel both welcomed and mortified at the same time. Miles, a bird-obsessed freshman whose enthusiasm for life is impossible to ignore. Nicole, the quiet girl who always seems to understand more than she says. And all around them is a neighborhood packed with unforgettable personalities—people who are messy, lonely, funny, and trying their best to matter.

As Van navigates friendships, family expectations, first love, and the fear of being invisible, he begins to realize something important:

Being needed is not the same thing as being truly known.

Funny, tender, and full of heart, Holes in the Sides is a coming-of-age story about loneliness, connection, and the messy process of becoming someone worth remembering.