Former academic Arthur Opp weighs 550 pounds and hasn't left his rambling Brooklyn home in a decade. Twenty miles away, in Yonkers, 17-year-old Kel Keller navigates life as the poor kid in a rich school and pins his hopes on a promising baseball career - if he can ever untangle himself from his family drama. The link between this unlikely pair is Kel's mother, Charlene, a former student of Arthur's. It is Charlene's unexpected plea for help to Arthur that jostles them into action. <p>Through Arthur and Kel's own quirky and lovable voices, Heft tells the story of two improbable heroes whose connection transforms both of their lives in a story that is hopeful and heartwarming.</p>