![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() However, readers will cheer for Tanner’s confidence in his sexual identity and for the quality bi representation he provides. Additionally, an unexpected switch from first to third person near the end of the book leaves the rather meandering plot feeling clunky. Given the issues involved, readers may be frustrated at the cursory attention given to Tanner’s father’s move away from practicing Judaism, and the representation of Mormonism, while not inaccurate, lacks the nuance the faith deserves. Moreover, Tanner’s manuscript is becoming increasingly autobiographical, risking outing them both. Sebastian’s devoutly Mormon (his father is a bishop), while Tanner’s not, and Sebastian’s unwilling to label his own sexuality. As their relationship moves from mentorship to friendship to romance, there’s much both boys must contend with. This is easier said than done when Sebastian, a handsome 19-year-old BYU student–turned-novelist, joins their novel-writing seminar as the teaching assistant and Tanner falls head over heels. As a “half-Jewish queer kid in a straight and Mormon town” he’s cautious about revealing his true self to his new community, planning to hold off being out until he moves away for college. Comfortably out when he lived in Palo Alto, he moved back into the closet when his family relocated to Provo, Utah, for his mom’s work. Identities collide in this story of first love and first novels.Įighteen-year-old white high school senior Tanner has always been at ease with his bisexuality. ![]()
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May 2023
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