BEcoming Boone
Nathan Boone thought he didn’t belong. Now they’ll do anything to make him one of them
Northern Connecticut State University was supposed to be his chance to finally break free from the anxiety that had always held him back. A chance for Nathan to focus on his writing, his future, and maybe, finally, feel like he belonged.
But NCSU isn’t what he expected.
Arriving at NCSU with his only friend in the world, Eve, Nathan is thrust into a new reality that feels anything but safe. His new roommate, Gabe, is a whirlwind—loud, confident, larger than life, breezing through college like it’s one big joke.
Then there’s Mia—soft-spoken, captivating, with a quiet gravity that pulls him in before he even understands why.
And then there’s Dante—A ghost from his past. A name he’s tried to forget. The source of his worst memories—standing right in front of him, refusing to stay buried.
But it’s Val who’s always watching. Coiled in the shadows, waiting to strike. There’s venom in her smile, poison in her words, and no one truly knows what she wants—except that she always gets it.
As the pressure mounts and the truth starts to unravel, Nathan is faced with an impossible choice: stay the person he’s always been—or become something else entirely.
Being Nathan was hard enough—Becoming Boone? That might be impossible.
Debut Novel—I Never Knew I Needed You
A Coming Of Age Story With A Twist
Jeremy Anderson's life is an endless cycle, reborn time and again on the same date, October 24, 1996-his eighteenth birthday.
Now, as he faces in life Twenty-Six, Jeremy is more determined than ever. Armed with the wisdom of more than two dozen lifetimes, he has crafted a meticulous plan, one that goes beyond the fleeting allure of fame and fortune, reaching for a deeper, more elusive purpose.
As he steps back into the familiar landscape of Huxley High School, Jeremy is ready to execute his carefully laid strategies. But this life takes an unexpected turn when he crosses paths with Dutch Wyatt, a despised bully with a tortured soul, and Missy Winston, the overachieving valedictorian and her undying desire for perfection. Their influence begins to tug at the edges of Jeremy's well-orchestrated life-plan, presenting new complications and unexpected alliances.
As Jeremy navigates this complex web of relationships and ambitions, he learns that true purpose may not lie solely in the goals he set for himself but also in the unanticipated roles he plays in the lives of those around him. In this 26th iteration of his life, Jeremy realizes that the balance between his own aspirations and the legacies of Dutch and Missy might just be the key to the fulfillment he has been seeking all along.
About The Author: Andy LaPlante
As a voice rooted in Generation X storytelling, Andy LaPlante captures the imagination with vivid detail and a fiercely personal lens. His journey through New England—from the coastal charm of Cape Cod to the suburban edge of Western Massachusetts, and finally to Northern Connecticut—has been one of quiet transformation and relentless creative drive. What began as a lifelong love of story in all its forms—books, television, and film—evolved into a writing practice shaped by the narratives he once searched for but never found.
In his debut novel, "I Never Knew I Needed You," set against the nostalgic backdrop of the 1990s, Andy rejuvenates the coming-of-age story as the book introduces readers to a protagonist who is unexpectedly thrust back into his youth, where he must navigate through the complexities and unresolved moments he had left behind. This novel approach to the journey toward adulthood underscores LaPlante's commitment to delving into life's intricacies and its inherent unpredictability.
His latest novel, "Becoming Boone", follows Nathan Boone, an anxious transfer student hoping for a clean start at Northern Connecticut State University. What he finds instead is a tangled web of pressure, memory, and high-stakes reinvention. As he tries to navigate a new school, a literal big man on campus for a roommate, and the resurfacing of people he thought he left behind, Nathan is pulled into the orbit of MIND—the Medically Integrated Neuro Device, a piece of emerging tech that claims it can sharpen focus, smooth out flaws, and make its users into the best versions of themselves. But as the device tightens its grip, and as truth fractures around him, Nathan is forced to decide whether to protect the version of himself he’s always known—or surrender to the one the world wants him to become.
Andy writes with the hope of pulling readers fully into the world of the story, crafting narratives that are as emotionally grounded as they are unexpected. His work blends the speculative with the familiar, always returning to the quiet questions that linger after the plot moves on. He believes in the power of storytelling to reveal, repair, and remind us what it means to be human.
The Huxley Universe, introduced in "I Never Knew I Needed You" and expanded in "Becoming Boone", is still unfolding. There is so much more to come.