Boys Don't Knit (in public) by T.S. Easton

  Boys Don't Knit (in public) by T.S. Easton.
                              Feiwel and Friends, 2015.  Young adult fiction.


Ben Fletcher, age 17, lives in England and seems like a typical youth with angst, mates who goad and tease him, and a family that sometimes embarrasses him. When he gets into a spot of trouble and has to do community service and find a hobby to fill his time with productive efforts, he is faced with a class in auto repair which his dad teaches, pottery which sounds messy and not fun, basic computers which he already knows, and knitting which Ben thinks is taught by the gorgeous Jessica Swallow. So he signs up for knitting, but finds Miss Swallow is not the teacher after all and he is stuck. By some miracle, though, Ben finds he actually is a fast knitter and can "see" the patterns in his head after only a little study. He tells his mother, a travelling magician, about his class, but begs her to keep it from his father who will think Ben's sexual preferences have something to do with his class choice. (No way!) How Ben manages to keep the secrets, do his community service of  helping an elderly neighbour clean out her shed (and finds great knitting supplies!),  and be chosen to complete in a junior all England knitting competition, is a funny, wise, and entertaining romp. At all, his friends and family come together to support him and Ben finds more people are on his side than he ever imagined. 
(The knitting references are right on target. The only hiccup is that the author mentions knitting a "quilted blanket". Quilting implies three layers sewn together: a backing, a batting or wadding, and a top. You can knit a blanket, but not a quilt. Here's hoping Ben takes up quilting in another episode!)