I Can’t Even Think Straight

A British Cypriot teen navigates sexuality, first love, and friendship in this lyrical verse novel by Atta (Only on the Weekends). As the school year begins, Kai wonders if it’s time for him to pursue his own romance. But he worries that wanting to date will force him to come out as gay, something his best friend, Matt, pressures him into keeping secret, since Matt fears that Kai’s coming out would draw attention to Matt’s own concealed sexuality, which only Kai knows about. Then he puts Kai on the spot in front of their classmates, forcing Kai to come out to draw attention away from Matt. Soon after, confident, charismatic Obi joins their bouldering group. Kai falls into a relationship with Obi—one that turns out to not be as picture-perfect as he’d hoped. Simultaneously, Kai supports a friend recovering from a recent trauma and copes with an emotionally distant single mother. Though a rigid poetry structure occasionally creates distance between the reader and the characters’ emotions, Atta deftly explores themes of queerness, masculinity, and racism with emotional honesty and heart. The supportive dynamics between Kai and the boys at school offer hopeful counterpoints to common narratives of rejection, making for a warmly rendered story about being seen. Ages 14–up. Agent: Abi Fellows, DHH Literary. (May)

Correction: The text of this review has been updated to reflect a character's background.