The Schwa Was Here by Neal Shusterman

This book is narrated by the voice of a smart alec teenage boy. . .and since I don't have to put up with him as a parent or teacher, I found it very funny. Antsy tells the story of a friendship he had with a kid he called the Schwa, thus named because the schwa is an easily forgotten sound. The Schwa in the book is ignored by just about everyone in school, including the narrator who turns out to be a sweet kid beneath his smart alec comments. The story speaks to being able to "see" people for who they are, to being able to see who you are. Antsy and Schwa befriend a blind girl named Lexie, and together the three of them explore what it means to have connections/friendships with other people. Lexie is disconnected from her parents, Schwa's father is an odd childlike adult, and Antsy's parents (according to him) never notice him because he is the middle child. The story has some suspenseful moments, and parts of it are very poetic (the parts when Antsy describes what things look like to Lexie without using any visual imagery). The voice of Antsy is perfect as the narrator--even the title of the chapters are humorous and hint of what will occur. The first chapter is called "Manny Bullpucky Gets His Sorry Butt Hurled Off the Marine Park Bridge." How's that for a hook to get you to read?
This was the first book by this author that I have read; I would recommend it to any high school kid. It's a fun read, but there are several serious issues that could be explored if you were so inclined. .