The Other Boy

Kevin is a high school senior who hates his life. He's overweight and clumsy and is constantly harassed and bullied by the school jocks. His best friend, Sid, is equally nerdy.He has a mad crush on one of the school's popular girls but she never notices him.Kevin escapes into a fantasy world he calls Grenelle. It is a magical world of kings and sorcerers, witches and noble knights. He's written stories about Grenelle for years but only shares them with Sid. One day, however, he leans a little too far into this imagined universe and finds himself actually there, where he becomes a stable boy in the king's castle whose name is Kendrick.Kendrick and Kevin are similar in some ways. Kendrick is also in love with an unattainable girl, in his case a real princess named Belinda. Kendrick, however, is fit and handsome, everything Kevin wishes he were.Neither boy is living up to his potential. Kevin has given up and Kendrick is content to remain a stable boy and daydream about the princess.This changes when the wise owl, Einstein, brings news that the witch, Malova, is awakening from the sleep spell she was put into by the good sorceress, Serena. When Malova was powerful, she kidnapped the king's three older daughters and only Belinda was left.Now Belinda is in danger and Kendrick must help her.But how? Kendrick has no knightly skills and no way to kill the witch.Kendrick meets a cranky dwarf who promises to teach him. Reluctant to trust the dwarf at first, Kendrick agrees, but the dwarf is demanding, critical and a sore trial to Kendrick. Fears for Princess Belinda awaken a dormant resolve in Kendrick and he keeps on despite the dwarf's constant scornful jibes and demands.Kevin, meanwhile, is traveling back and forth from Grenelle to his real life. As Kendrick changes in his determination to save the princess, Kevin changes too.He does the impossible. After years of excuses to avoid the track, Kevin actually starts running because the dwarf made Kendrick run before he would teach him sword fighting. To the amazement of the track coach, he improves, slowly but steadily. He finally gains a spot on the track team to the amazement of all and loses his ungainly looks and his extra fat.Is the Other Boy, Kendrick, real or imaginary? No one knows, but he changes Kevin's life in an incredible way.