Desert echoes

Protagonist Kam and his best friend, Bodie, have been inseparable since they met in kindergarten. Now in high school, Bodie cheerfully declares they are "gay-ass Iranians." Both boys are single--until freshman Kam meets senior Ash and falls head over heels for him, to the annoyance of Bodie, who finds Ash weird and pretentious. But Kam says, "I knew instantly that, like me, he wanted life to feel like poetry. That he longed for romance." The two launch a relationship as the narrative moves backward and forward in time, from Kam's freshman year to his junior year, when we learn that Ash has vanished into the Joshua Tree desert and has been missing for two years. Kam refuses to believe that he's truly gone, not even when Ash's older sister tells Kam the bitter truth, that Ash was a drug addict. This makes Kam even more determined to go on a trip with his Gay-Straight Alliance back to Joshua Tree, where he has a life-changing epiphany, realizing that if he and Ash had told each other their secrets, things might have turned out differently. Nazemian (Only This Beautiful Moment, 2023) has written a deeply felt and memorable love story between two highly empathic teens as well as a moving exploration of Kam and Bodie's enduring friendship. Both relationships ultimately invite reflection about the nature of love.

A teen's grief over his boyfriend's disappearance becomes all-consuming in this poignant novel from Nazemian (Only This Beautiful Moment). Iranian American Kam Khorramian started dating artsy, white-cued senior Ash Greene during the pandemic, when Kam was 15. But while on a trip the pair took to Joshua Tree National Park, Ash disappeared. Two years later, Kam has been having trouble navigating mental health-related challenges, his grades have plummeted, and he clings to the belief that Ash might still be alive despite gentle pushes from his movie-star handsome best friend Bodie--also gay and Iranian American--for Kam to move on. When it's announced that the school's annual gay-straight alliance trip is planned for Joshua Tree, Bodie, Kam's mother, and the GSA adviser worry that the trip could be triggering for him. But Kam insists on going, hopeful that returning to the park will help him understand what happened. Dual timelines detail the looming Joshua Tree trip alongside flashbacks to Kam and Ash's blazing, rocky relationship, all of which culminates in a heartfelt story about a teen struggling to accept painful realities. Ages 14--up. Agent: John Cusick, Folio Literary. (Sept.)

A teen boy finds himself after a tragic loss. Iranian American high schooler Kamran Khorramian's life is in upheaval. Two years ago, Kam's boyfriend, Ash Greene, who's cued white, disappeared during a camping trip in Joshua Tree National Park. Everyone, including Bodie Omidi, Kam's lifelong best friend (who's also gay and Iranian American), wants him to move on, but he just can't let go--not as long as he believes that Ash could still be alive. The narrative structure engagingly alternates between Kam's freshman and junior years. In freshman year, Kam and Ash meet and bond over a shared love of the music of Lana Del Rey, but Ash's unpredictable behavior makes their relationship hard. In junior year, Kam struggles with grief, racially charged ostracization, and figuring out his future. Kam also has to learn to cope with the impact of substance abuse in his family, finding support and understanding in Alateen during junior year. Both timelines converge in an emotional denouement. The storytelling relies heavily on Kam's amnesia surrounding the night of Ash's disappearance, which feels cliched, and the ending is sweet but feels tonally disparate from the rest of the book. Ultimately, however, many of the novel's elements come together to create a poignant and enjoyable whole that sensitively but honestly explores relationships, grief, identity, and addiction. A bittersweet and sincere coming-of-age story. (author's note)(Fiction. 14-18) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.