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Flight Dreams (The Mark Manning Mysteries #1)
by Michael CraftA masterpiece of mystery and suspense, this is the moving story of a man struggling to come to terms with his sexuality Investigative journalist Mark Manning is on the trail of a story that could make his career. Airline heiress Helena Carter, who vanished seven years ago, is about to be declared legally dead. Her fortune, valued at over one hundred million dollars, will go to the Catholic Archdiocese of Chicago and the Federated Cat Clubs of America. Manning is the only one who believes that the missing Chicago socialite is still alive. And he&’s just been given an ultimatum by his publisher: Prove it, or he&’s history. Determined to keep his job—and hoping to secure the five-hundred-thousand-dollar reward from Carter&’s estate, as well as the coveted Partridge Prize for investigative journalism—Manning enters a world of religious fanatics who could turn back the clock on gay rights. At the same time, Manning grapples with his own sexuality as he falls in love for the first time—with the man of his dreams. Flight Dreams is the first book in Michael Craft&’s Mark Manning series, which continues with Eye Contact and Body Language.
Name Games: A Mark Manning Mystery (The Mark Manning Mysteries #4)
by Michael CraftJournalist Mark Manning delves into the bizarre world of miniatures . . . and finds a king-sized case of murderFront-page news in the quiet town of Dumont, Wisconsin, where former Chicago reporter Mark Manning runs the town&’s Daily Register, involves the annual exhibition of the Midwest Miniatures Society and new zoning laws for an adult bookstore. But murder becomes the headline when &“King of Miniatures&” Carrol Cantrell, the nation&’s foremost expert, is found strangled in the guesthouse of a local shop owner. It seems Cantrell was leading a double life. He was having an affair with Doug Pierce, Dumont&’s closeted sheriff and a good friend of Manning&’s. With a blackmail note pointing to his guilt, Pierce soon becomes the prime suspect. Enlisting the help of colleagues, friends, and his lover, Neil, Manning races to clear Pierce&’s name . . . and finds himself enmeshed in the seething rivalries and vicious back-stabbing that characterize the cutthroat worlds of miniatures and pornography. With suspects ranging from a gay-bashing feminist to a renowned French craftsman of miniatures, Manning unearths a hotbed of damning secrets someone has killed—and could kill again—to keep. Name Games is the fourth book in Michael Craft&’s Mark Manning series, which begins with Flight Dreams and Eye Contact.
By Nightfall: A Novel
by Michael CunninghamPeter and Rebecca Harris: mid-forties denizens of Manhattan's SoHo, nearing the apogee of committed careers in the arts--he a dealer, she an editor. With a spacious loft, a college-age daughter in Boston, and lively friends, they are admirable, enviable contemporary urbanites with every reason, it seems, to be happy. Then Rebecca's much younger look-alike brother, Ethan (known in thefamily as Mizzy, "the mistake"), shows up for a visit. A beautiful, beguiling twenty-three-year-old with a history of drug problems, Mizzy is wayward, at loose ends, looking for direction. And in his presence, Peter finds himself questioning his artists, their work, his career--the entire world he has so carefully constructed. Like his legendary, Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, The Hours, Michael Cunningham's masterly new novel is a heartbreaking look at the way we live now. Full of shocks and aftershocks, it makes us think and feel deeply about the uses and meaning of beauty and the place of love in our lives.
Contingent Figure: Chronic Pain and Queer Embodiment
by Michael D. SnedikerA masterful synthesis of literary readings and poetic reflections, making profound contributions to our understanding of chronic painAt the intersection of queer theory and disability studies, acclaimed theorist Michael D. Snediker locates something unexpected: chronic pain. Starting from this paradigm-shifting insight, Snediker elaborates a bracing examination of the phenomenological peculiarity of disability, articulating a complex idiom of figuration as the lived substance of pain&’s quotidian. This lexicon helps us differently inhabit both the theoretical and phenomenal dimensions of chronic pain and suffering by illuminating where these modes are least distinguishable. Suffused with fastidious close readings, and girded by a remarkably complex understanding of phenomenal experience, Contingent Figure resides in the overlap between literary theory and lyric experiment. Snediker grounds his exploration of disability and chronic pain in dazzling close readings of Herman Melville, Emily Dickinson, Henry James, and many others. Its juxtaposition of these readings with candid autobiographical accounts makes Contingent Figure an exemplary instance of literary theory as a practice of lyric attention.Thoroughly rigorous and anything but predictable, this stirring inquiry leaves the reader with a rich critical vocabulary indebted to the likes of Maurice Blanchot, Gilles Deleuze, D. O. Winnicott, and Eve Kosofsky Sedgwick. A master class in close reading&’s inseparability from the urgency of lived experience, this book is essential for students and scholars of disability studies, queer theory, formalism, aesthetics, and the radical challenge of Emersonian poetics across the long American nineteenth century.
The Legend of Korra Turf Wars Part Two
by Michael Dante DiMartinoRecovering from the fight and furious for revenge, Triple Threats member Tokuga solidifies his ties with the duplicitous Wonyong. Meanwhile, when Republic City&’s housing crisis reaches its peak, Zhu Li sets her sights on the biggest public figure in the city—President Raiko—in a bid for the presidency! With her friend&’s success, the future of the spirit portal, and the wellbeing of Republic City&’s citizens at stake, can Korra remain neutral and fulfill her duties as the Avatar?Written by series co-creator Michael Dante DiMartino and drawn by Irene Koh (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Afrina and the Glass Coffin), with consultation by Bryan Konietzko, this is the official continuation of The Legend of Korra!
The Legend of Korra: Ruins of the Empire Part Three
by Michael Dante DiMartinoKuvira's true nature is revealed, and the Earth Kingdom will feel the consequences!Thanks to Commander Guan and Doctor Sheng's brainwashing technology, all hope for a fair election in the Earth Kingdom is lost. Korra works with Toph, Su, and Kuvira to plan a means to rescue not just the brainwashed Mako, Bolin, and Asami, but everyone else caught up in Guan's plan! With the Earth Empire potentially on the rise again, Kuvira pulls another trick from her sleeve . . . but whose side is she truly on? Written by series co-creator Michael Dante DiMartino and illustrated by Michelle Wong (Goosebumps: Download and Die), with consultation by Bryan Konietzko and Tim Hedrick, this is the ultimate continuation of the beloved television series!
The Legend of Korra: Ruins of the Empire Part Two
by Michael Dante DiMartinoWhat will it take to stop a war?King Wu's dreams of peacefully transitioning the Earth Kingdom into a democracy are in danger when Commander Guan throws his political hat in the ring, hoping to subvert the new system from the inside out. But playing fair was never part of his plan; Guan and Dr. Sheng are using terrifying new technology to cement Guan's win! In a desperate attempt to save the Earth Kingdom from falling back into the dark days of conquest and empire, Korra and Kuvira convince an old friend to return and take the former commander on in the polls. But will it be enough? Written by series co-creator Michael Dante DiMartino and illustrated by Michelle Wong (Goosebumps: Download and Die), with consultation by Bryan Konietzko, this is the ultimate continuation of the beloved television series!
The Legend of Korra: Turf Wars Part Three
by Michael Dante DiMartinoWhen Asami is kidnapped, Korra sets out to the Spirit Wilds to find her. Now teeming with dark spirits influenced by the half spirit-half human Tokuga, the landscape is more dangerous than ever before. The two women must trust in each other and work together if they are to make it out alive. Their fate is revealed in this stunning, action-packed conclusion to The Legend of Korra: Turf Wars!Written by series co-creator Michael Dante DiMartino and drawn by Irene Koh (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Afrina and the Glass Coffin), with consultation by Bryan Konietzko, this is the official continuation of the beloved television series!
Gay Fandom and Crossover Stardom: James Dean, Mel Gibson, and Keanu Reeves
by Michael DeangelisWhy and how does the appeal of certain male Hollywood stars cross over from straight to gay audiences? Do stars lose their cachet with straight audiences when they cross over? In Gay Fandom and Crossover Stardom Michael DeAngelis responds to these questions with a provocative analysis of three famous actors--James Dean, Mel Gibson, and Keanu Reeves. In the process, he traces a fifty-year history of audience reception that moves gay male fandom far beyond the realm of "camp" to places where culturally unauthorized fantasies are nurtured, developed, and shared. DeAngelis examines a variety of cultural documents, including studio publicity and promotional campaigns, star biographies, scandal magazines, and film reviews, as well as gay political and fan literature that ranges from the closeted pages of One and Mattachine Review in the 1950s to the very "out" dish columns, listserv postings, and on-line star fantasy narratives of the past decade. At the heart of this close historical study are treatments of particular film narratives, including East of Eden, Rebel Without a Cause, The Road Warrior, Lethal Weapon, My Own Private Idaho, and Speed. Using theories of fantasy and melodrama, Gay Fandom and Crossover Stardom demonstrates how studios, agents, and even stars themselves often actively facilitate an audience's strategic blurring of the already tenuous distinction between the heterosexual mainstream and the gay margins of American popular culture. In addition to fans of James Dean, Mel Gibson, and Keanu Reeves, those interested in film history, cultural studies, popular culture, queer theory, gender studies, sociology, psychoanalytic theory, melodrama, fantasy, and fandom will enjoy this book.
On Christopher Street: Life, Sex, and Death after Stonewall
by Michael DennenyThrough the eyes of publishing icon Michael Denneny, this cultural autobiography traces the evolution of the US’s queer community in the three decades post-Stonewall. The Stonewall Riots of 1969 and the AIDS crisis of the 1980s have been captured in minute detail, and rightly memorialized in books, on tv, and in film as pivotal and powerful moments in queer history. Yet what about the moments in between—the tumultuous decade post-Stonewall when the queer community’s vitality and creativity exploded across the country, even as the AIDS crisis emerged? Michael Denneny was there for it all. As a founder and editor of the wildly influential magazine Christopher Street and later as the first openly gay editor at a major publishing house, Denneny critically shaped publishing around gay subjects in the 1970s and beyond. At St. Martin’s Press, he acquired a slew of landmark titles by gay authors—many for his groundbreaking Stonewall Inn Editions—propelling queer voices into the mainstream cultural conversation. On Christopher Street is Denneny’s time machine, going back to that heady period to lay out the unfolding geographies and storylines of gay lives and capturing the raw immediacy of his and his contemporaries’ daily lives as gay people in America. Through forty-one micro-chapters, he uses his journal writings, articles, interviews, and more from the 1970s and ‘80s to illuminate the twists and turns of a period of incomparable cultural ferment. One of the few surviving voices of his generation, Denneny transports us back in time to share those vibrant in-between moments in gay lives—the joy, sorrow, ecstasy, and energy—across three decades of queer history.
Out of the Ordinary: A Life of Gender and Spiritual Transitions
by Michael Dillon/Lobzang JivakaNow available for the first time—more than 50 years after it was written—is the memoir of Michael Dillon/Lobzang Jivaka (1915–62), the British doctor and Buddhist monastic novice chiefly known to scholars of sex, gender, and sexuality for his pioneering transition from female to male between 1939 and 1949, and for his groundbreaking 1946 book Self: A Study in Ethics and Endocrinology. Here at last is Dillon/Jivaka’s extraordinary life story told in his own words.Out of the Ordinary captures Dillon/Jivaka’s various journeys—to Oxford, into medicine, across the world by ship—within the major narratives of his gender and religious journeys. Moving chronologically, Dillon/Jivaka begins with his childhood in Folkestone, England, where he was raised by his spinster aunts, and tells of his days at Oxford immersed in theology, classics, and rowing. He recounts his hormonal transition while working as an auto mechanic and fire watcher during World War II and his surgical transition under Sir Harold Gillies while Dillon himself attended medical school. He details his worldwide travel as a ship’s surgeon in the British Merchant Navy with extensive commentary on his interactions with colonial and postcolonial subjects, followed by his “outing” by the British press while he was serving aboard The City of Bath.Out of the Ordinary is not only a salient record of an early sex transition but also a unique account of religious conversion in the mid–twentieth century. Dillon/Jivaka chronicles his gradual shift from Anglican Christianity to the esoteric spiritual systems of George Gurdjieff and Peter Ouspensky to Theravada and finally Mahayana Buddhism. He concludes his memoir with the contested circumstances of his Buddhist monastic ordination in India and Tibet. Ultimately, while Dillon/Jivaka died before becoming a monk, his novice ordination was significant: It made him the first white European man to be ordained in the Tibetan Buddhist tradition.Out of the Ordinary is a landmark publication that sets free a distinct voice from the history of the transgender movement.
Breakfast With Scot
by Michael DowningAn enlightened modern couple faces sudden parenthoodand the embarrassing truth about their own definitions of normalin this hilarious novel chronicling a joyride into the unknown.. Sam and Ed are living the good life: happy, healthy, devoted to each other and their careers, they have no yearning for the joyful mysteries of parenthood. But when eleven-year-old Scots mother suddenly dies, the couple is determined to make good on a wine-soaked promise made years before. With the best intentions, Sam and Ed hang a tire swing in the backyard and call the neighborhood school to arrange enrollment. Scot arrives just in time to start fifth grade--with a pair of lacy white socks in his duffel bag.It doesnt take Sam and Ed long to realize that Scot wont be trying out for the football team. He adores feather boas, wishes the house had better drapes, and keeps Pink Gardenia lotion in his camera bag. Spells of vertigo cause him to drop to the floor in panic, and the kids at school want to beat him up. Breakfast with Scot is a fast-paced, comic novel with resonance for everyone trying to raise children in our relentlessly sophisticated culture. In wry dialogue, frothy characters, and an offbeat plot, Michael Downings mastery reaches new heights of brilliance.
Breakfast with Scot: A Novel
by Michael DowningSam and Ed live the high life, and see no reason to add to their happy twosome. Then 11–year–old Scot's mother dies, and a wine–soaked promise pushes the couple into parenthood. They dutifully make all the usual arrangements, but Scot is far from usual, sporting makeup and enduring bullying at school. Soon Sam and Ed begin to question their parenting, their commitment to each other, and the compromises they've made to live in a straight society. Breakfast with Scot is a humorous, heartwarming novel about the true meaning of family.
Still in Love: A Novel
by Michael DowningThis hilarious, sometimes harrowing, and ultimately heartening novel is the companion to the critically acclaimed, national bestseller Perfect Agreement "Beautifully and economically written, and very funny." —Linda Wertheimer, NPR This is your chance to enroll in English 10 at highly rated Hellman College—if you can find a place to sit in the fantastically overcrowded classroom. Mark Sternum, whom readers first met in Downing’s beloved novel Perfect Agreement, is a veteran teacher. Twenty years older, separated for six months from his longtime lover, and desperate to duck the overtures of double–dealing deans above him and disgruntled adjunct faculty below him, Mark has one ambition every day he is on campus—to close the classroom door and leave the world behind. His escape, however, is complicated by his contentious, complicated wrestling match of a relationship with the Professor, the tenured faculty member with whom Mark has co–taught this creative–writing workshop for ten years. The spectacle of their rigorous, academic relationship is a chance for students—all of us—to learn what an amazing arena the classroom can be. Replete with engaging writing exercises, harsh criticism, and contrarian advice, Still in Love is the story of one semester in a college classroom. And it is an urgent reminder that we desperately need classrooms, that those singular, sealed–off–from–the–world sanctuaries are where we learn to love our lives.
One Soul We Divided: A Critical Edition of the Diary of Michael Field
by Michael FieldThe first book-length selection from the extraordinary unpublished diary of the late-Victorian writer “Michael Field”—the pen name of two female coauthors and romantic partnersMichael Field was known to late-Victorian readers as a superb poet and playwright—until Robert Browning let slip Field’s secret identity: in fact, “Michael Field” was a pseudonym for Katharine Bradley (1846–1914) and Edith Cooper (1862–1913), who were lovers, a devoted couple, and aunt and niece. For thirty years, they kept a joint diary titled Works and Days that eventually reached almost 10,000 pages. One Soul We Divided is the first critical edition of selections from this remarkable unpublished work.A fascinating personal and literary experiment, the diary tells the extraordinary story of the love, art, ambitions, and domestic life of a queer couple in fin de siècle London. It also tells vivid firsthand stories of the literary and artistic worlds Bradley and Cooper inhabited and of their encounters with such celebrities as Browning, Oscar Wilde, W. B. Yeats, Aubrey Beardsley, and Bernard Berenson. Carolyn Dever provides essential context, including explanatory notes, a cast of characters, a family tree, and a timeline.An unforgettable portrait of two writers and their unexpected romantic, literary, and artistic marriage, One Soul We Divided rewrites what we think we know about Victorian women, intimacy, and sexuality.
The Snow Vampire
by Michael G. CorneliusIn 1914 Hungary, Hendrik and Ferenc hide their love amidst the deserted ruins in the hills above their tiny, sheltered town. Hendrik is engaged to Ferenc's younger sister, and a place to escape the rigid strictures of their families is worth braving the legend of the snagov vrolok--the snow vampire--who is said will claim the blood and flesh of anyone foolish enough to wander near. Yet sometimes dark tales are based on truth, and something wicked does lurk in the abandoned monastery. Suddenly the lovers find themselves faced with a heartbreaking choice: brave a world in which their love is impossible or face the evil that lives in the snowy heart of a cold Carpathian mountain. A Bittersweet Dreams title: It's an unfortunate truth: love doesn't always conquer all. Regardless of its strength, sometimes fate intervenes, tragedy strikes, or forces conspire against it. These stories of romance do not offer a traditional happy ending, but the strong and enduring love will still touch your heart and maybe move you to tears.
When the Band Played On: The Life of Randy Shilts, America's Trailblazing Gay Journalist
by Michael G. LeeRandy Shilts was the preeminent LGBTQ+ reporter of his generation. He was the first openly gay reporter assigned to a gay beat at a mainstream paper and one of the nation's most influential chroniclers of gay history, politics, and culture. Shilts wrote three seminal works on the community: The Mayor of Castro Street, on the life, assassination, and legacy of Harvey Milk; And the Band Played On, detailing the failure of politics as usual during the early AIDS epidemic; and Conduct Unbecoming, a history of the US military's mistreatment of LGBTQ servicemembers. Yet the intimate life story of Randy Shilts has been left unwritten. When the Band Played On tells that story, recognizing his legacy as a trailblazing figure in gay activism, journalism, and public policy. Author Michael G. Lee conducted interviews with Shilts's family, friends, college professors, colleagues, informants, lovers, and critics. The resulting narrative tells the tale of a singularly gifted voice, a talented yet insecure young man whose coming of age became intricately linked to the historic peaks and devastating perils of modern gay liberation. When the Band Played On is the authoritative account of Randy Shilts's trailblazing life, as well as his legacy of shaping the history-making events he covered.
Bayard Rustin: A Legacy of Protest and Politics
by Michael G. Long2024 Outstanding Academic Title, given by Choice ReviewsCelebrates the life and legacy of Bayard Rustin, the civil rights leader behind the 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and FreedomWhile we can all recall images of Martin Luther King Jr. giving his “I Have a Dream” speech in front of a massive crowd at Lincoln Memorial, few of us remember the man who organized this watershed nonviolent protest in eight short weeks: Bayard Rustin. This was far from Rustin’s first foray into the fight for civil rights. As a world-traveling pacifist, he brought Gandhi’s protest techniques to the forefront of US civil rights demonstrations, helped build the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, led the fight for economic justice, and played a deeply influential role in the life of Dr. King by helping to mold him into an international symbol of nonviolent resistance. Rustin’s legacy touches many areas of contemporary life—from civil resistance to violent uprisings, democracy to socialism, and criminal justice reform to war resistance. Despite these achievements, Rustin was often relegated to the background. He was silenced, threatened, arrested, beaten, imprisoned, and fired from important leadership positions, largely because he was an openly gay man in a fiercely homophobic era. With expansive, searching, and sometimes critical essays from a range of esteemed writers—including Rustin’s own partner, Walter Naegle—this volume draws a full picture of Bayard Rustin: a gay, pacifist, socialist political radical who changed the course of US history and set a precedent for future civil rights activism, from LGBTQ+ Pride to Black Lives Matter.
Fight AIDS!: How Activism, Art, and Protest Changed the Course of a Deadly Epidemic and Reshaped a Nation
by Michael G. LongAcclaimed author Michael G. Long tells the story of the devastating AIDS crisis and the trailblazing activists who fought for dignity, compassion, and treatment. Act up! Fight back! Fight AIDS! This was the slogan for ACT UP—or AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power—an activist organization that emerged in the 1980s during the height of the AIDS epidemic. The group was loud, direct, and confrontational as it fought for access to treatment, compassionate care, and recognition for everyone with HIV and AIDS. Tracing the history of the LGBTQ+ community from the Stonewall Riots and “gay liberation” movements to the groundbreaking protests of the 1980s and 1990s, Fight AIDS! is a gripping narrative of the AIDS epidemic for young readers, told through the lens of the activism it fostered. Focusing on the people most directly affected by the crisis and on the individuals who fought for justice, it is an intimate and humane account of one of the most devastating eras in United States history and an electrifying celebration of the power ordinary citizens have to enact meaningful change.
Unstoppable: How Bayard Rustin Organized the 1963 March on Washington
by Michael G. LongThis powerful and triumphant picture book biography tells the story of how openly gay civil rights leader Bayard Rustin defied prejudice as he planned and organized the historic March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. <P><P> Bayard Rustin was a troublemaker. He spent his life disrupting racism and prejudice with nonviolent direct action. He organized protests against war, nuclear weapons, racial segregation and discrimination. He was a friend and mentor to Martin Luther King Jr., and he was unapologetically gay and Black. <P><P> When Bayard and his mentor, A. Philip Randolph, set out to organize the historic March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, Bayard was targeted by those who wished to see the movement fail. But Bayard Rustin would not be stopped. With the support of Dr. King and future congressman John Lewis, Bayard organized the largest protest in civil rights history. <P><P> This stunning picture book ,written by Rustin scholar Michael G. Long and illustrated by the New York Times bestselling artist Bea Jackson, tells the incredible story of how Bayard Rustin led over 250,000 people to the doorstep of the United States government demanding change. <P><P><i>Advisory: Bookshare has learned that this book offers only partial accessibility. We have kept it in the collection because it is useful for some of our members. Benetech is actively working on projects to improve accessibility issues such as these.</i>
Edie for Equality: Edie Windsor Stands Up for Love
by Michael GenhartThis is a story about a great injustice and how Edie Windsor boldly stood up for what was right and went up against the highest court in the United States.Growing up in the 1930s, Edie Windsor hadn't always been bold. In fact, she was someone who played by the rules and loved math. Numbers added up right every time and equal meant equal. But when the US government refused to acknowledge the loving relationship of over forty years between her and her spouse Thea Spyer, Edie made a bold move and sued the US government! In this comprehensive picture book biography, acclaimed author Michael Genhart shares the story of LGBTQ icon Edie Windsor and the pivotal case that set the stage to take down the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA). In United States v. Windsor, Edie's tenacious spirit proved to the Supreme Court and the world that love is love and equal means equal.
Gay Knights and Horny Heroes: Tales from the Court of King Arthur
by Michael GoudaGwene-who? The timeless tales of King Arthur have been told throughout the ages as sterling examples of bravery, manhood, and heart-searing romance. But really, we know it's all about the men. Here we have a re-imagined landscape of Arthurian love stories, a place in which contests of strength become contests of foreplay, a knight's favored squire may be his equally favored bedmate, and Lancelot is given his rightful place in history: at Arthur's side and in his bed, for as long as the two shall live. Come, gentle readers, and venture into the world of yore, where men were men, and so are their lovers, and every warrior loves a good joust! Welcome to the world of Gay Knights and Horny Heroes--God save the King! (And the man at his side!)
To the Ends of the Earth
by Michael GoudaWhat do you do when when your lover is out to kill you? After university, Johnny dated a mysterious and influential man who never disclosed his profession. Now, following a quarrel, Johnny suffers a series of attacks—attempts on his life that his lover has the power and influence to perpetrate. With nowhere else to turn, he must rely on his childhood best friend. But can Johnny trust him? With time running out and the world against him, Johnny must solve the mystery himself if he wants to survive.
Virgin Airmen
by Michael GoudaIt's a bitterly cold Saturday evening when Michael Duggan, RAF aircraftsman second class, meets Jim Ross on a train station platform. Together they experience life in the forces--including a near-miss with death when their bombing range is destroyed by American "friendly fire." After being split up by the subsequent disbanding of their unit, they are reunited just in time for the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II--and decide to have a celebration of their own.
If I Can Give You That
by Michael Gray BullaFor fans of Kacen Callender and Mason Deaver comes a heart-tugging coming-of-age YA debut that takes a poignant look at gender identity, sexuality, friendship, and family—both the one we’re born into and the one we find for ourselves.Seventeen-year-old Gael is used to keeping to himself. Though his best friend convinces him to attend a meeting of Plus, a support group for LGBTQIA+ teens, Gael doesn’t plan on sharing much. Where would he even start? Between supporting his mother through her bouts of depression, dealing with his estranged father, and navigating senior year as a transgender boy at a conservative Tennessean high school, his life is a lot to unload on strangers.But after meeting easygoing Declan, Gael is welcomed into a new circle of friends who make him want to open up. As Gael’s friendship with Declan develops into something more, he finds himself caught between his mother’s worsening mental health and his father’s attempts to reconnect.After tragedy strikes, Gael must decide if he can risk letting the walls around his heart down and fully opening up to those who care for him.