History Literature / DogsDontTalk

* FirstFriend: As a young child in Oakwood, Texas, Ben's best friend was a boy named Travis. They used to pretend to be Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn, even though they were too young to read the book. Their friendship ended because Ben's mom didn't approve of Travis's other friend's meanness towards Johnny.

* OutnumberedSibling: Elizabeth, the youngest child, with two older brothers.

* BlackSheep: Keith's sister Monica, who was a rebellious feminist in TheSeventies and told her mother during a particularly nasty argument about abortion, "You were never a mother to me!" As an adult, she's never invited to any family gatherings besides funerals, and she's the only one of Keith's five siblings Ben hasn't met.

* BabysFirstWords: Seven-year-old Johnny's were "[[Music/TheBeatles She loves you, yeah, yeah]]," sung perfectly on key.

High schooler Ben [=McDowell=] doesn't fit in anywhere, not at school and not with his family. He thinks that if he only knew how to talk to girls, he'd be able to get a reasonably attractive girlfriend and win the respect of his wrestling teammates. But his family doesn't make it easy. His mother Diane communicates more openly with Rosie the dog than with him. His older brother Johnny is autistic and has OCD. And his younger sister Elizabeth and his father Keith have their own problems.

* CharacterTics: Johnny grunts and flaps his arms.

High schooler Ben [=McDowell=] doesn't fit in anywhere, not at school and not with his family. He thinks that if he only knew how to talk to girls, he'd be able to get a reasonably attractive girlfriend and win the respect of his wrestling teammates. But his family doesn't make it easy. His mother Diane communicates more openly with Rosie the dog than with him. His older brother Johnny is autistic and has OCD. And his younger sister Elizabeth and his father Keith have their own problems. When Ben meets Emily, things seem to be going well, until outside circumstances intervene.

* MilitaryBrat: Emily's dad is a Marine. Her family ReallyMovesAround very irregularly, sometimes staying in one place for only a few months. She copes by sticking her nose in a book.

High schooler Ben [=McDowell=] thinks that if he only knew how to talk to girls, he'd be able to get a reasonably attractive girlfriend and win the respect of his wrestling teammates. But his family doesn't make it easy. His mother Diane communicates more openly with Rosie the dog than with him. His older brother Johnny is autistic and has OCD. And his younger sister Elizabeth and his father Keith have their own problems. When Ben meets Emily, things seem to be going well, until outside circumstances intervene.

* InstantHumiliationJustAddYouTube: [[spoiler:Ben finally has had enough of Blake's bullying and beats him up. Then Diane and their two dogs appear and start climbing all over Blake. A girl films the fight and uploads it to Facebook, resulting not only in comments like "Blake likes it doggy style!" but also in both boys getting in trouble with the principal.]]

* MilitaryBrat: Emily is one. Her family ReallyMovesAround very irregularly, sometimes staying in one place for only a few months. She copes by sticking her nose in a book.

* WhyCouldntYouBeDifferent: Ben's mom spent years in denial about Johnny's autism, convinced that his silence meant he was a genius like Einstein. After he was diagnosed, he spent years in therapy meant to "fix" him, as his mom believed he could potentially be normal.