Being yourself can be such a bad idea. For sixteen-year-old Badi Hessamizadeh, life is a series of humiliations. After withdrawing from public school under mysterious circumstances, Badi enters Magnificat Academy. To make things “easier,” his dad has even given him a new name: Bud Hess. Grappling with his Iranian-American identity, clinical depression, bullying, and a barely bottled rage, Bud is an outcast who copes by resorting to small revenges and covert acts of defiance, but the pressures of his home life, plummeting grades, and the unrequited affection of his new friend, Nikki, prime him for a more dangerous revolution. Strange letters to the editor begin to appear in Magnificat’s newspaper, hinting that some tragedy will befall the school. Suspicion falls on Bud, and he and Nikki struggle to uncover the real culprit and clear Bud’s name. Permanent Record explodes with dark humor, emotional depth, and a powerful look at the ways the bullied fight back. “A poignant and compelling tale of a unique high school outcast, told in a searing and memorable voice.” — David Klass, author of YOU DON’T KNOW ME
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“Smart, funny, and psychologically complex. Leslie Stella isa brilliant writer, and her debut as a writer-for-teens is a dazzlingachievement.”
— Julianna Baggott, author of Pure
“It has an enticing plot, but the characters are what make it truly remarkable.”
— Children’s Literature“A poignant and compelling tale of a unique high school outcast, told in a searing and memorable voice.”
— David Klass, author of You Don’t Know MeBe the first to write a review about this audiobook!
Leslie Stella is the author multiple contemporary novels, including, Unimaginable Zero Summer, The Easy Hour, and Fat Bald Jeff. She was a founding editor of the Chicago-based politics and satire magazine Lumpen, and her work has been published in The Mississippi Review, The Adirondack Review, Bust, and Easy Listener. In 2004, Leslie was nominated for a Pushcart Prize in short fiction. She lives in Illinois with her husband and their children.
Nick Podehl is a professional voice actor. He has narrated numerous audiobooks, many of which have won prestigious awards, including fourteen AudioFile Earphones Awards. He currently lives and works around Grand Rapids, Michigan, with his wife.