Whew! this is a transcendent book. I haven't read anything like it for a long time. A powerful personal story embedded in a universal human tragedy.

Yes, there was a beautiful love story between two 16-year old high school seniors. But the backdrop of 1989? when AIDS was carving a path of destruction through New York's gay community was such a dramatic setting, especially with these 2 teenagers discovering their sexuality in the foreground.

I don't usually choose books about high schoolers but, wow, sometimes these books are so good - I'm thinking back to The Interestings - that they must be read.

The terrible vulnerability, anxiety, isolation and earnestness of youth is dazzling in the hands of this writer - apparently a debut author! Abdi Nazemian.

It's the story of Iranian immigrant loner and innocent, Reza, and rich nerdy loner gay kid, Bartholomew aka Art.

As the cover blurb says, it is about the courage to be yourself. But so much is asked of these boys! and without much help from their families. The gay community is family, to them and the countless others in the same boat.

I'm pretty sure I've heard of the ACT UP movement, but that's all. The group's activities are plot points of the novel, at least in the first half. And provide a bird's eye view of extreme heroism... I recently saw a program about the Vietnam War and the absurdly courageous early conscientious objectors among the conscripted teenagers / young adults.

It's so horrific to think of what it was to be gay as recently as the 1980s! How on earth did humanity justify treating men who loved men so callously, and women who loved women too, of course, and all the rest of the ways people loved.

The import of the book flows over into the stolen generation, the detainees on Nauru and Christmas Island, the victims of church abuse - the numerous injustices the status quo has let happen. The disregard of the sick, and there were so many sick - that's where the sinning lies.

Between 1981 and 2018, 700,000 folks died in the US of AIDS. To date, about 1.1M Americans have died from COVID. I can't grasp the scale of death.

In plenty of places people are still dying of AIDS.

Yes, this novel is a blood boiler and an ache in the heart and a triumph. ( )

I read this for review for the local high school, so it's not something I'd pick up on my own. This was fantastic though, and I can imagine it would be exactly what so many queer teens need to read during difficult high school years.
Focusing on the AIDS crisis in the late 80s/ early 90s and on coming out to yourself and others in the midst of that, this is full of tough topics. I think anyone looking to ban this for explicit content should weigh that against the empathy this will foster, but I guess if you're pro ban you're probably not big on empathy. ( )

Historical Fiction giving a YA outlook on NYC in the late 1980s, the queer community, the HIV/AIDS epidemic, ACT UP activism and coming out as a teen.

I was a bit tepid how the relationships between the three main characters progressed. Some things didn't ring true to me, but I don't want to say too much.

This would have closer to a 5-star for me, except for the "25-years later" Epilogue.
It was nice, but I wanted more closure, more explanation of the ensuing years after 1989, more about some of the side characters. ( )

A teen LGBTQ love triangle, but more importantly an honest account of the fear and stigma prevalent in the early days of the AIDS epidemic in America. Also a look inside the Act Up movement who stood against the fear and demanded access to life-saving treatments. Timely for 2022, as Monkey Pox was circulating in the community and was meeting with similar fears and lack of resources. I loved Uncle Stephen’s study cards! ( )

I don't like to rate books that are very much not meant for me. I have no interest in hearing graphic descriptions of teen sex. And I listened to this, so I couldn't easily skim. Read the description. If you think this won't be for you, it REALLY won't be for you.