Leila is an Iranian American high school student at an upscale private school who’s afraid to come out. Then she gets a crush on new student Saskia. Glamorous and beautiful and unafraid of expressing her feelings, Saskia leaves Leila feeling floaty even before they finally kiss. Leila’s over the moon and everyone at school knows it. She comes crashing down, hard, after Saskia blithely confirms that she slept with Leila’s friend Greg after kissing Leila, but there’s still a disconnect between what Leila’s head knows and what her heart and body feel. One of the intriguing aspects of Sara Farizan’s novel is that Saskia’s emotional game-playing is evident to readers long before it is to Leila. As things with Saskia intensify and then fall apart, and Saskia becomes not just manipulative but emotionally abusive, Leila finds herself confiding in her old friend Lisa, from whom she’s grown apart in recent years. Lisa, in turn, eventually confides in Leila: She likes her, and has for years. As this far more healthy relationship begins to develop, Leila finally comes out at home, where she finds an unexpected ally in — and a new perspective on — her perfect older sister while her parents, although clearly struggling with the news, make clear they love her. Leila’s relationship with Lisa is striking in contrast to what she had with Saskia for the respect and tenderness between them in a novel that deftly and deeply explores many kinds of relationships and has a finely developed cast of secondary characters. (Age 13 and older)

“Both personal and universal, this is a compelling story about high school, family and owning up to who you really are. Farizan is just the voice YA needs right now. Trust me, you'll be glad you listened.” --Sarah Dessen

Leila has made it most of the way through Armstead Academy without having a crush on anyone, which is something of a relief. As an Iranian American, she’s different enough; if word got out that she liked girls, life would be twice as hard. But when beautiful new girl Saskia shows up, Leila starts to take risks she never thought she would, especially when it looks as if the attraction between them is mutual.

Struggling to sort out her growing feelings and Saskia’s confusing signals, Leila confides in her old friend, Lisa, and grows closer to her fellow drama tech-crew members, especially Tomas, whose comments about his own sexuality are frank, funny, wise, and sometimes painful. Gradually, Leila begins to see that almost all her classmates are more complicated than they first appear to be, and many are keeping fascinating secrets of their own.