How far would you go to discover who you are?Seventeen-year-old Able was just lashing out at his family when he stole the pocket watch from the mall. Who even uses a watch anymore? But his enraged father strikes back with a revelation that will turn his life upside Able was adopted.Now Able is determined to track down his birth parents—his real parents—and leave his gritty Massachusetts town for good. But after hurting everyone important to him along the way, Able will find a biological family far more dysfunctional than the one he left behind … and he’ll have to decide for himself where he truly belongs.If you love deeply moving young adult fiction like All the Bright Places and Far from Home, you'll find a ready place in your heart for Being Able.
This is a story about family. Who one's family is and who it isn't. The main character, Able, finds himself metaphorically marooned from his adoptive family and he must find his way back. Able has the guts to do what he thinks he needs to do- leave his adoptive family and high school. His adoptive father doesn't make it easy for him to come back. I wondered why his adoptive mother didn't try harder. It is his adoptive siblings who try the hardest. In the process, he encounters people who live on the fringes of society and he ends up a more compassionate person because of it.