STAR FRUIT

Three diverse teens struggle with relationships, family drama, bigotry, and the politics of high school theater in Kingsberry’s YA novel.

Ari, Ya, and Atlas are seniors in their final semester at Baldwin Hills High. In honor of Pride Month, the high school’s theater club has chosen to put on a student-produced play. Ari (Arielle), a brilliant wordsmith who is Black, autistic, and gay, has written a queer adaptation of Gwendolyn Brooks’ poem “We Real Cool.” However, after several rounds of edits, the club decides to produce a more hetero-centric play (“the committee took no issue with centering a hetero-romance”). Led by Ya (Sonya), a cishet young woman and an ally, the three friends endeavor to produce their play with Atlas (a transgender teen) as the star and their classmates as cast and crew. As the play becomes more of a reality, the friends must struggle with a transphobic PTA, raising a seemingly impossible amount of money, and teenage romantic drama—all before opening night. As the trio fights for their play’s right to exist, they must also come to terms with issues of identity and allyship. In many ways, Kingsberry’s novel falls into the category of standard teen fiction. However, the author’s commitment to representing the lives of often marginalized teens—be they Black, Latine, or LGBTQ+—and doing so without falling into the standard “troubled teen” trope sets the book apart from the rest of the genre. Characters are three-dimensional; they’re witty and engaging, but also as aggravating as many teens can be. The themes of love, friendship, and unwavering loyalty shine through the muck and mire of contemporary bigotry, highlighting the queer “glimmers” identified at the start of the book. The inclusion of neurodiverse characters is also gratifying, making this a novel that should appeal to most teen readers, regardless of their identities.

A truly honest and authentic YA narrative.