TEENAGE DIRTBAGS

Former friends reunite for a revenge plot—and rediscover that their differences may be why they love each other.

At New Jersey’s Moorestown High, Jackson Pasternak is the golden boy from the town’s most affluent neighborhood. Phil Reyno is the antagonistic punk living with his “very fun alcoholic” mother in a dingy apartment. They have nothing in common, but they were best friends until a few years ago. When Phil’s boyfriend, the milquetoast yet strangely conniving Cameron Ellis, publicly outs him at the school dance, Jackson knows something is up. Now an internet-famous, picture-perfect gay icon, Cameron unceremoniously dumps Phil but makes him out to be the villain on his popular vlog. So Phil decides to get even by taking down Cameron and the Skwad, his frustratingly woke friend group. Throw in Ronny DiSario (Cameron’s jilted ex-girlfriend) plus Jackson (the respectable boy no one would expect to be involved), and the revenge is on. As they hatch their plans, Jackson’s and Phil’s latent feelings for one another bubble up into a steamy and touching romance. With just enough plot twists to maintain interest without becoming disjointed, this enjoyable novel places readers in the minds and contemporary world of its protagonists while exploring the tempestuous nature of teen identity. Many central characters are white or racially ambiguous; Jackson is Jewish.

A sexy, irreverently witty, gay romance that takes teen issues seriously.