By the critically praised author of A Million Quiet Revolutions, this contemporary sapphic romance novel-in-verse follows a bisexual teen girl who falls in and out of love over the course of one fateful summer, perfect for fans of Juliet Takes a Breath and Laura Dean Keeps Breaking Up With Me.
It's a few months before senior year and Claire Kemp, a closeted bisexual, is finally starting to admit she might be falling in love with her best friend, Sophia, who she's known since they were four.
Trying to pay off the fine from the crash that totals Lars, her beloved car, Claire takes a job at the local nursing home up the street from her house. There she meets Lena, an eighty-eight-year-old lesbian woman who tells her stories about what it was like growing up gay in the 1950s and '60s.
As Claire spends more time with Lena and grows more confident of her identity, another girl, Pen, comes into the picture, and Claire is caught between two loves-one familiar and well-worn, the other new and untested.
2024 Bank Street Best Books of the Year List
About the Author :
Robin Gow is a trans and queer poet, editor, and educator from rural Pennsylvania. Their books include Ode to My First Car, A Million Quiet Revolutions, and Blue Blood. They are the supportive services coordinator at Bradbury-Sullivan LGBT Community Center in Allentown, Pennsylvania, and founder of Trans-cendent Connections, an organization that provides trans education resources to support trans youth. Gow also founded the New York City trans and queer reading series Gender Reveal Party. They live in Allentown, Pennsylvania, with their partner, best friend, and pugs, Gertrude and Eddie.
Review :
2024 Bank Street Best Books of the Year List
"This gem of a book made my heart sing. Timeless, vulnerable, tender, and relatable." --Sara Farizan, author of If You Could Be Mine, Tell Me Again How a Crush Should Feel, Here to Stay, and Dead Flip
"Gow (who is bisexual, queer, and trans), writes with authority, insight, and considerable poetic skill...The result is a highly readable, character driven exercise in literary fiction that is highly recommended." --Booklist, STARRED REVIEW
"A compelling tale that explores queerness, friendship, and love." --Kirkus
"[Gow] thoughtfully unpacks a variety of issues, including economic anxiety, guilt, and identity exploration via empathetic verse poems ..." --Publishers Weekly
