THINGS WE COULDN'T SAY

Abandonment issues abound in an emotional coming-out, coming-of-age, and coming-to-terms story.

When 17-year-old Giovanni Zander came out to his pastor father as bisexual, it didn’t go well. His best friends and stepmother are supportive, but his often drunk, very religious dad’s rejection of who Gio really is just exacerbates how he’s been feeling ever since his mother rejected their whole family and left when he was little. Gio’s never gotten over it, so when his birthmother finally reaches out, a lot goes through his head. This high-stress situation for a queer, Black pastor’s kid facing almost comically insensitive teachers in a tough Indiana neighborhood is complicated even further by meeting David, a new White student who plays with him on the basketball team—and who may just be the one. David helps Gio through the bumpy ups and downs of his mother’s reinsertion of herself into his life, but even as this new romantic relationship flourishes, old wounds prove hard to overcome. There’s not much subtlety in Gio’s narration, in which heartbreak and hurt continually erupt from the seams of his mind and home, school, and community lives. Still, a bright spot for Gio and readers alike is the unlikely pairing of two boys who share music, basketball glory, and some desperately needed moments of intimacy.

A realistic depiction of challenging circumstances and first love.