Breaking Saint Jude — Nikki Godwin

When sixteen-year-old Jude Calvert sets out to steal stained glass from a broken cathedral window, he finds more than shards of red. He finds Max Rangel - his eye candy from his new LGBT support group - hauling a giraffe carcass across an abandoned part of town with a pack of guys. And he still accepts Max's dinner invite a few days later. Still, animal lover Jude can't get the giraffe out of his mind. It doesn't take long for him to confront Max, who gives him partial answers and introduces him to a secret brotherhood of not-so-typical game hunters. Unable to tell his mom (the savior of black cats everywhere) or his dad (the zoo's head veterinarian) and unwilling to go back to his overbearing therapist, Jude quickly finds himself sucked into the underground world of taxidermy, theft, and drug deals. At first, he's willing to do anything for the brotherhood just because he's so thankful to belong to someone again after serious drama with his ex-clique and ex-boyfriend. But when his underground life collides with his life above, he realizes he may have bitten off more than even the biggest animal can chew.