Andy Palinkas is a modern Don Quixote. He's unattractive, and mistrustful of others. He's obsessed with a girl he can't win. He embarrasses himself at sports. Plus, as Andy observes, "Having a younger brother who can beat you at anything: That has got to be the worst thing in the world." As he grows up in State City, Iowa, in the mid-1960s, Andy copes with life by making himself the hero of his own saga. He creates alternative realities in which he's powerful, accomplished, brave-and sometimes vengeful. To his own amazement, by his senior year at State City High, Andy has become one of the cool kids. Then, he faces a decision that might cost him the status and admiration he's earned. Will Andy stick to his principles, and fight? Hard -Wired will resonate with any adult who remembers the humil- iations, the painful humor, and the occasional victories of adolescence.