The Classmate follows Laurence Clinton, a quiet genius who loves living under his rock and has one goal for junior and senior year: survive them. Two more years at Mackey High and he’s free—free from the noise, the students, and the fables that told him these are supposed to be “the best years of your life.” He doesn’t care about pep rallies, dances, or who’s dating who. He just wants to make it out alive.

But fate pairs him with Julia Nichols—brilliant, magnetic, and unpredictable. A classmate he’s known for years, now fighting to hold herself together in a school that doesn’t understand her. Against his better judgment, Laurence finds himself drawn to her, pulled into the quiet storms and shifting loyalties that define their world.

As the next two years unfold, what begins as reluctant friendship becomes a catalyst for change. Suddenly, Laurence is caught up in the drama and politics of a high school at a crossroads—a place filled with charlatans, armchair administrators, and rattlesnakes waiting to strike.


About the Author

Blake Hillyer enjoys playing guitar, reading and writing. His special interests include watching movies, listening to music, hanging, and out with friends and family. He lives in Winnemucca, Nevada. Hillyer has a father who is a physical therapist and mother who was is a former nurse, but is now managing the finances of his father's business.

Hillyer is currently working as a special education aide at Lowry High School in Winnemucca, Nevada. Working at Lowry High School has had an impact in his writing of The Classmate as, it reflects the reality he sees at work with the students. Hillyer’s experience as a student at Lowry also shaped his book's setting and themes and it has also made a significant impact on his life as he desires to teach there someday.