(2) YA A Manhattan teen comes out as gay, starts to date, and explores his sexual awakening in the 1980s during the AIDS crisis. Narrator Micah, a high school junior, meets CJ, eighteen, at a nightclub, and the attraction is instant. They bond over music, and CJ supports Micah as he comes out to his family. Konigsberg traces CJ and Micah's close friendship and on-again, off-again romantic relationship through tumultuous HIV/AIDS protests, volunteer work, and a terrifying diagnosis. The novel exuberantly explores NYC counterculture and the music of the period, with scenes involving several iconic gay bars and organizations, including ACT UP, which Micah and CJ join. It also starkly confronts readers with the experience of watching the people of one's community get sick and die painfully of the AIDS virus; Micah's intense fear of sex due to the risk of infection inhibits his relationships. However, the story ends on a hopeful note, and Micah and CJ's love for and loyalty to each other never fail. An author's note explains Konigsberg's connections to the era.

Reviewer: | Horn Book Magazine Issue: November, 2022

(2) YA Aaron Boroff and Tillie Stanley are both suffering from depression, but different life experiences lead them to the George Washington Bridge at the same moment for their respective suicide attempts. Sequentially, four distinct possibilities play out: Tillie jumps, Aaron doesn't; Aaron jumps, Tillie doesn't; they both jump; neither jumps. Aaron is an introspective loner, a skinny gay kid who's interested in writing and performing music. He's plagued by self-doubt, however, exacerbated by severe depression. Tillie, adopted from Korea, struggles to earn the love of her emotionally unavailable father and feels like her family's "plan B," supplanted by the biological daughter they had years later. The intriguing narrative structure allows Konigsberg to develop Aaron and Tillie with nuance and depth, showing how their absence from this world would affect their families and peers immediately and far into the future. In the last alternative narrative strand, Aaron and Tillie become friends and support each other in a way that their parents, friends, and therapists could not. Mental health and suicide ideation are difficult topics, and Konigsberg handles them with great skill, care, and sensitivity. An author's note addresses depression and suicide, particularly among LGBTQIA+ youth, and provides resources.

Reviewer: Jonathan Hunt | Horn Book Magazine Issue: November, 2020

(2) YA Jordan, helped by classmate Max, tries his hand at the food truck business to help his unstable mother make mortgage payments. Despite their differences, the two boys develop a friendship that quickly blossoms into a romance; they work together in the boiling summer heat of Mesa, Arizona, and date each other in the evenings. Konigsberg portrays gay teen relationships in a way that is consistently authentic, compassionate, hopeful, and empowering.

Reviewer: Jonathan Hunt | Horn Book Magazine Issue: May, 2019

(2) YA After his best friend Rafe comes out (Openly Straight), Ben grapples with his own identity as "gay-for-Rafe"--straight, but still head-over-heels for his friend. Through this lens, the challenges of being openly yourself when you can't yet put a label on who you are come to light. Set at Ben's prestigious Massachusetts boarding school, the multidimensional coming-of-age tale celebrates individuality and interconnection.

Reviewer: Claire E. Gross | Horn Book Magazine Issue: March, 2017

(3) YA Visiting small-town Montana to care for his long-absent alcoholic father, also the child of estranged parents, Carson becomes obsessed with discovering the reason for his grandfather's abandonment. New friend Aisha, homeless since coming out to her family, joins his cross-country scavenger hunt. Smart-alecky dialogue and quirky roadside characters lighten the commentary on religion, secrets, family, and forgiveness.

Reviewer: Claire E. Gross

(2) YA Rafe is sick of being the poster child for all things gay at his uber-liberal Colorado high school, so when he gets into a Massachusetts boarding school for his junior year, he decides to reboot himself as "openly straight." Konigsberg slyly demonstrates how thoroughly assumptions of straightness are embedded in everyday interactions. For a thought-provoking take on the coming-out story, look no further.

Reviewer: Claire E. Gross | Horn Book Magazine Issue: May, 2013

(3) YA Senior Bobby Framingham is the quintessential All-American California high school quarterback, except that he's gay. When a student reporter outs him, Bobby must deal with the fallout from teammates, family, and friends. Bobby is a narrator with depth and believability. This story about sports and identity examines the complexities of a difficult situation with humor and thoughtfulness.

Reviewer: Carolyn Shute