From one of the brightest and most acclaimed new lights in YA fiction, a fantastic new novel about a bi Black boy finding first love . . . and facing the return of the mother who abandoned his preacher family when he was nine.
There's always been a hole in Gio's life. Not because he's into both guys and girls. Not because his father has some drinking issues. Not because his friends are always bringing him their drama. No, the hole in Gio's life takes the shape of his birth mom, who left Gio, his brother, and his father when Gio was nine years old. For eight years, he never heard a word from her . . . and now, just as he's started to get his life together, she's back.
It's hard for Gio to know what to do. Can he forgive her like she wants to be forgiven? Or should he tell her she lost her chance to be in his life? Complicating things further, Gio's started to hang out with David, a new guy on the basketball team. Are they friends? More than friends? At first, Gio's not sure . . . especially because he's not sure what he wants from anyone right now.
There are no easy answers to love -- whether it's family love or friend love or romantic love. In Things We Couldn't Say, Jay Coles, acclaimed author of Tyler Johnson Was Here, shows us a guy trying to navigate love in all its ambiguity -- hoping at the other end he'll be able to figure out who is and who he should be.
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Gr 9 Up-When Gio was in fifth grade, his mother walked out the door, leaving him behind with his little brother and intolerant pastor father. Now she has unexpectedly made contact, throwing Gio's life into chaos. Recently out to his best friends as bisexual, Gio's life is further complicated by the arrival of David, a new student and starter on his basketball team. Gio and David's relationship builds slowly and organically from friendship to romance as the two work through tension surrounding their experiences of racism (Gio is Black and David is white) and comfort level in being fully out. Gio's friends Ayesha, who is Black, and Olly, who is white, are supportive and help carry authentic, multidimensional discussions about privilege, homophobia, and parental abandonment through the narrative. This book is accessible and easy to digest, and the author tackles big issues. Gio is often stereotyped and treated with hostility or pity by his white teachers, and his concerns about lack of diversity in the curriculum are brushed off. A candid look at the deep-seated trauma left behind by an absent parent and the importance of found family, this is ultimately a warm, genuine read. VERDICT A first choice for high school libraries and highly recommended for fans of Nic Stone.-Catherine Cote, John Champe H.S., Aldie, VA