Meeting Boris

At his new, rough public school, Theo meets Boris Pavlikovsky, a pale, dark-haired boy with a foreign accent. Boris is a wild, intelligent, and world-weary kid who has lived all over the globe. They bond over their shared status as outsiders and their mutual love of drinking and causing trouble. Boris becomes Theo's first real friend in Las Vegas, a partner in crime who understands his loneliness and his dark humor. Their friendship is immediate and intense, filling the void left by his mother's death and his father's neglect.