(2) YA Illustrated by Tea Bendix. Ness's postmodern short story (a version of which was previously published in an anthology), intermittently illustrated with Bendix's striking pencil drawings and digital collage, candidly depicts the relationships among several teenage boys in eastern Washington. Narrator Ant's frank, earnest musings on masculinity, companionship, and the degree of his own virginity are tempered by his self-censorship, with literal black bars concealing nearly all instances of cursing and sexual activity (though homophobic slurs aren't censored--a decision meta-commented on by the characters themselves). A key flashback reveals the clandestine sexual relationship between Ant and his friend Charlie, who publicly projects a homophobic persona and denies Ant the intimacy of a kiss. Conflict erupts after a joke from Jack, the subject of Charlie's homophobic bullying, inadvertently uncovers Ant and Charlie's secret, which leads to a violent outburst from an emotionally broken Charlie (illustrated across a double-page spread in monstrous detail). The lean narrative moves briskly with a focus on dialogue, dry humor, and Ant's wonderings--feeling much like a stage play composed of only a handful of scenes. Ant's conclusion is uncertain and hopeful, neither storybook nor tragic. An honest, profound kiss from Jack ends up meaning more to Ant than anything he ever did with Charlie, leading Ant to accept that his virginity is not defined by others' rules and expectations, but rather "I think I'm the one who says."

Reviewer: Patrick Gall | Horn Book Magazine Issue: May, 2023