YA LGBT Books discussion

We had only one nomination this month, so we will be reading And They Lived . . . by Steven Salvatore

Chase Arthur is a budding animator and hopeless romantic obsessed with Disney films and finding his true love, but he's plagued with the belief that he's not enough for anyone: he's recovering from an eating disorder and suffers from body dysmorphia fueled by his father, and can't quite figure out his gender identity. When Chase starts his freshman year of college, he has to navigate being away from home and missing his sister, finding his squad, and contending with his ex-best friend Leila who is gunning for the same exclusive mentorship. If only he can pull together a short for the freshman animation showcase at the end of the semester.

Then Chase meets Jack Reid, a pragmatic poet who worships words and longs to experience life outside of his sheltered world. But Chase throws everything into question for Jack, who is still discovering his sexual identity, having grown up in close-knit conservative family. Jack internalized a lot of homophobia from his parents and childhood best friend, who unexpectedly visit campus, which threatens to destroy their relationship. Chase will have to learn to love--and be enough for--himself, while discovering what it means to truly live.

Content warnings: (view spoiler)[homophobia, fatphobia, gaslighting, eating disorders, suicidal ideation, recreational drug use. (hide spoiler)]

I look forward to seeing what our members think of this one. If you want to comment on something that may be a story spoiler, you can hide it by putting <*spoiler> (without the *) ahead of it, and <*/spoiler> (without the *) after it - eg. (view spoiler)[hide the info. (hide spoiler)]

I LOVE this book sooooo much. So far it's my favorite read of the year!

My full review is here: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Jeff wrote: "I LOVE this book sooooo much. So far it's my favorite read of the year!

My full review is here: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show..."

Yay - I can't wait till I have time to read it.