The high school

Many of the scenes in the novel take place at the nameless high school. With the exception of Tony, all of the teenaged characters in the book attend this same high school. Unlike other high schools, the high school attended by Paul and his friends is especially whimsical, with unusual traditions like motorcycle-riding cheerleaders and oddsmakers who take bets on the future of relationships. The high school is particularly open and accepting with regards to its gay students and students of other sexual orientations.

The town

The high school is positioned within a quiet, unnamed suburban town. Again: with the exception of Tony, all of the characters within the novel live within the town (and Tony lives only one town over). The town is somewhere in the American Northeast, as it is a train-ride away from the iconic Strand Bookstore in New York City, where Paul...