A shy boy who sees beauty in everything he lays eyes on, and a confident girl who doesn't believe in love, finding common ground in the world of art. tw.

Elle Grey doesn't need anyone. She only needs herself, a paintbrush, and if she gets desperate enough, there are the few people she actually tolerates that she can talk to. She knows that there's more out there in the world - in fact, she spends most of her time either daydreaming or painting about it. She knows that the South Dakotan town she's grown up in is only suffocating her. That's why she finds Harry so intriguing. He's different and he brings out something in her that she wasn't sure was still there. Suddenly she's second-guessing everything she has known her entire life - maybe she does need someone.

There's three things you should know about Harry: 1. When we were in ninth grade his biggest aspiration in life was to start a punk ukulele band. 2. Once I made him a bracelet with plastic beads that didn't have a pattern in the slightest, and he wore it for years until the pink string holding it together couldn't take any more wear and tear. 3. He's been my neighbor for more than half my life, and that hasn't changed now that we're in college. There's three things you should know about me: 1. I'm banned from the putt putt golf course in my hometown... but that's actually Harry's fault. 2. I'm not a fan of math, but I'm good at it, which has turned into a constant battle in my head. 3. I'm not about to fall in love with my best friend. I'm not.

It's early summer, and in a small community on the central Jersey Shore, a black car screeches to a halt outside the Wright Bros grocery. Danny looks up from where he's working at the carwash to see the driver rifle out of the car and chase a girl rushing into the store. For some reason-fate perhaps or intuition-he decides to cross the lot and investigate. When he meets Mary, there is a great deal Danny doesn't know, but he certainly knows that he's been struck. For it's like the keys to an old car had been dropped into his hands and is about to start the engine that will forever alter the outcome of their lives. Some Place Better Than Here is a gritty, unflinching look at how we define family and come to grips with loss. It's about growing up in a small town, following your dreams, and mapping out the uneven ground that often lays between love, friendship, and sexual awakening.