This book was published in 1996. But with all the issues it deals with, I thought it was more recent. It's about a middle schooler who slowly realizes that he's a bully and that the vegetarian Quaker he and his friends bully is actually a really good kid. I thought his development was excellent. It really felt like I was inside the mind of a 7th grade football player. The PG version, that is.
Issues this book addresses include bullying, Different worldviews, environmentalism, Working class (and making ends meet), and just the very slightest touch on LGBT.