Friend Is Not a Verb

Henry “Hen” Birnbaum’s sister, Sarah, missing for over a year, has come home unexpectedly, with no explanation at all. But he can’t leave well enough alone; Hen needs to figure out why she disappeared, even if she won’t tell him. It’s not like he has anything better to do. His girlfriend just dumped him and kicked him out of their band. He can’t play the bass worth crap anyway. His social life consists of night after night of VH1 marathons with his best friend and next-door neighbor, the neurotic Emma Wood. Hen’s sure the answers to Sarah’s lost year lie with Gabriel Stern — Sarah’s friend from college who also happens to be a twenty-two-year-old fugitive from the law and Hen’s bass teacher . . . too bad he can’t play bass worth crap either. A month into his quest, Hen has had countless consultations with Emma, watched approximately fifty-three reruns of Behind the Music, and made one new Facebook friend. Unfortunately, he’s no closer to any revelations about his sister. The thing is, he’s too distracted to notice it, but while Hen’s been looking for all the answers, something mind-blowing happened: He got a life.