As a digital subscriber, you’ll receive unlimited access to Horn Book web exclusives and extensive archives, as well as access to our highly searchable Guide/Reviews Database.
To access other site content, visit The Horn Book homepage.
To continue you need an active subscription to hbook.com.
Subscribe now to gain immediate access to everything hbook.com has to offer, as well as our highly searchable Guide/Reviews Database, which contains tens of thousands of short, critical reviews of books published in the United States for young people.
Thank you for registering. To have the latest stories delivered to your inbox, select as many free newsletters as you like below.
No thanks. Return to article
560 pp.
| HarperCollins/B+B |
May, 2022 |
TradeISBN 978-0-06-315798-9$18.99
|
EbookISBN 978-0-06-315809-9
(2)
YA
This novel in verse follows the first romantic relationship experiences of a Black, queer, fat teenage boy learning to find love and acceptance within himself. Mack lives in London with his movie director father, whom he rarely sees. His loneliness lifts when he begins a romance with his longtime crush, male classmate K, who is not out; Mack reluctantly agrees to keep the relationship secret but wishes their time together included more than handholding and kissing. When Mack and his father move to Glasgow for two months to film a documentary about Fin, a social media–famous transgender teen, Mack struggles with long-distance intimacy and with his newly developing feelings for Fin. Short stanzas break up the lengthy text, easing readability. Mack's romantic struggles and insecurities are relatable to a broad audience, and the characters are varied enough in race, nationality, religion, sexual orientation, and gender identity that many teens will recognize themselves.