Oliver Tate is fifteen. He's determined to lose his virginity before his next birthday. He's unhealthily obsessed about his parents' sex life. He's convinced that his mother is having an affair and his father is depressed, borderline suicidal even. There are many new and interesting words he hasn't yet learned but he has a trusty dictionary and he uses some of the entries in a pamphlet he's writing for fat Zoe at school, to assuage his guilt for sharing in bullying her.