It's the late '90s-the final days before smartphones and the internet changed the teenage landscape forever. Zack and his mother have moved from Tempe to Berkeley for a fresh start, leaving behind Zack's father after a painful divorce. A natural athlete, Zack makes the water polo team which equals social acceptance at his new school. Yet he's more drawn to Matthias, a rebellious skater on the fringes, who introduces him to punk rock, record stores, and the legendary Telegraph Avenue.
As their friendship intensifies, Matthias's behavior reminds Zack of his absent dad, driving a wedge between him and his mother. Complicating matters is Zaylee, a senior who boosts Zack's confidence but makes him question his new buddy, Matthias. Faced with all these changes, Zack learns that when life gets messy, he might have to become his own best friend. Dr. Z and Matty Take Telegraph is about how a friendship can challenge who we are, how we fit in, and where we're going. "Dr. Z and Matty Take Telegraph is a keenly and compassionately observed coming-of-age story that glows with truth and yearning. Reading this book feels the way falling in love and making a new best friend alight on the young and hungry heart." -Jeff Zentner, award-winning author of In the Wild Light