With Can't Buy Me Love, which Kensington published in April 2001, newcomer Chris Kenry tickled our funnybones with his tale of a resourceful young man's rollicking ride through today's gay world. In "Uncle Max," he once again delivers a novel that is as witty and warm as it is laugh-out-loud hilarious. It is the story of a gawky adolescent teetering on the edge of homosexuality, who discovers an unlikely hero in his outrageous, irreverent uncle. Together, this daring duo embarks on a glorious madcap adventure that will change young Dillon's life forever.Fourteen-year-old Dillon is a self-described nerdy band fag in desperate need of a summer reprieve from gym class and torment by the school jock. Alas, that isn't to be -- not after his born-again mother, Lana, stumbles across his stash of empty wine bottles and Sears catalog pages featuring scantily clad male torsos. Alarmed at the diabolic evidence of Dillon's drunken, perverted nocturnal hobbies, Lana concludes that Bible Camp is his only hope.But before you can say "halleluiah, " Dillon's salvation materializes -- fabulously shirtless and smoking a French cigarette. Perpetually on the lam, Uncle Max needs a place to hang -- and hide out -- for awhile. Hot on his heels is an entourage that includes his parole officer, Meredith; his sexy mountaineer boyfriend, Serge; and fellow con artist/antiques dealer Jane Nguyen.Sprung from the proverbial closet, Dillon finds himself under Uncle Max's supervision for the summer. This entails Hitchcock films, Balzac novels, and a crash course in crime as Max and Jane's sidekick.As July gives way to steamy August and the cops close in, one thing is certain -- for Dillon, nothing will everbe the same again.
