Abdi Nazemian

Stonewall Honor Book! "A love letter to queerness, self-expression, and individuality (also Madonna) that never shies away from the ever-present fear within the queer community of late '80s New York, Like a Love Story made me feel so full--of hope, love, courage, pride, and awe for the many people who fought for love and self-expression in the face of discrimination, cruelty, and death. "A book for warriors, divas, artists, queens, individuals, activists, trend setters, and anyone searching for the courage to be themselves."--Mackenzi Lee, New York Times bestselling author of The Gentleman's Guide to Vice and Virtue It's 1989 in New York City, and for three teens, the world is changing. Reza is an Iranian boy who has just moved to the city with his mother to live with his stepfather and stepbrother. He's terrified that someone will guess the truth he can barely acknowledge about himself. Reza knows he's gay, but all he knows of gay life are the media's images of men dying of AIDS. Judy is an aspiring fashion designer who worships her uncle Stephen, a gay man with AIDS who devotes his time to activism as a member of ACT UP. Judy has never imagined finding romance...until she falls for Reza and they start dating. Art is Judy's best friend, their school's only out and proud teen. He'll never be who his conservative parents want him to be, so he rebels by documenting the AIDS crisis through his photographs. As Reza and Art grow closer, Reza struggles to find a way out of his deception that won't break Judy's heart--and destroy the most meaningful friendship he's ever known. This is a bighearted, sprawling epic about friendship and love and the revolutionary act of living life to the fullest in the face of impossible odds.

Like a Love Story

From the Stonewall Honor-winning author of Like a Love Story comes a revelatory novel about the enclosed world of privilege and silence at an elite boarding school and the unlikely group of friends who dare to challenge the status quo through their writing. Perfect for fans of E. Lockhart, Kathleen Glasgow, and Jandy Nelson, with crossover appeal for readers of Donna Tartt's The Secret History and Curtis Sittenfeld's Prep. Beth Kramer is a "townie" who returns to her sophomore year after having endured a year of tension with her roommate, Sarah. But Sarah Brunson knows there's more to that story. Amanda Priya "Spence" Spencer is the privileged daughter of NYC elites, who is reeling from the realization that her family name shielded her from the same fate as Sarah. Ramin Golafshar arrives at Chandler as a transfer student to escape the dangers of being gay in Iran, only to suffer brutal hazing under the guise of tradition in the boys' dorms. And Freddy Bello is the senior who's no longer sure of his future but knows he has to stand up to his friends after what happened to Ramin. At Chandler, the elite boarding school, these five teens are brought together in the Circle, a coveted writing group where life-changing friendships are born--and secrets are revealed. Their professor tells them to write their truths. But is the truth enough to change the long-standing culture of abuse at Chandler? And can their friendship survive the fallout?

The Chandler Legacies

The Authentics is a fresh, funny, and insightful novel about culture, love, and family—the kind we are born into and the ones we create. Daria Esfandyar is Iranian-American and proud of her heritage, unlike some of the “Nose Jobs” in the clique led by her former best friend, Heidi Javadi. Daria and her friends call themselves the Authentics, because they pride themselves on always keeping it real. But in the course of researching a school project, Daria learns something shocking about her past, which launches her on a journey of self-discovery. It seems everyone is keeping secrets. And it’s getting harder to know who she even is any longer. With infighting among the Authentics, her mother planning an over-the-top sweet sixteen party, and a romance that should be totally off limits, Daria doesn’t have time for this identity crisis. As everything in her life is spinning out of control—can she figure out how to stay true to herself?

The Authentics

2019. Moud is an out gay teen living in Los Angeles with his distant father, Saeed. When Moud gets the news that his grandfather in Iran is dying, he accompanies his dad to Tehran, where the revelation of family secrets will force Moud into a new understanding of his history, his culture, and himself.

1978. Saeed is an engineering student with a promising future ahead of him in Tehran. But when his parents discover his involvement in the country’s burgeoning revolution, they send him to safety in America, a country Saeed despises. And even worse—he’s forced to live with the American grandmother he never knew existed.

1939. Bobby, the son of a calculating Hollywood stage mother, lands a coveted MGM studio contract. But the fairy-tale world of glamour he’s thrust into has a dark side.

Set against the backdrop of Tehran and Los Angeles, this tale of intergenerational trauma and love is an ode to the fragile bonds of family, the hidden secrets of history, and all the beautiful moments that make us who we are today.

Only This Beautiful Moment

Em 1989, o jovem iraniano Reza se muda para Nova York com a mãe para morar com seu padrasto e o filho dele. Apesar de nunca ter contado para ninguém, Reza sabe há muito tempo que é gay. Porém, tudo que ele vê na televisão sobre a pandemia da aids e a comunidade LGBT reforça seu medo de que sua sexualidade está ligada a algo terrível. Então, o rapaz decide esconder sua verdade para se proteger das possíveis críticas da sua cultura e da sua mãe. Na escola nova, Reza conhece Judy, uma aspirante a estilista que adora criar e usar roupas coloridas. O maior ídolo dela é seu tio Stephen, um homem gay e soropositivo, que perdeu o parceiro para a aids e que usa seu ativismo para trazer atenção à doença. Ela tem certeza de que nunca vai se apaixonar — até conhecer Reza. Os dois iniciam um relacionamento, mas ele não consegue evitar os sentimentos que começa a ter por Art, melhor amigo de Judy. Art é o único garoto assumidamente gay da escola. Ele adora a Madonna, fotografa os protestos da comunidade e participa com orgulho do movimento gay — apesar da desaprovação de seus pais conservadores. À medida que os sentimentos de Reza por Art tomam forma, Reza luta para entender os desafios de assumir quem é sem machucar aqueles à sua volta. Numa jornada emocionante de autodescobrimento e amizade, Tipo uma história de amor é também um fantástico relato sobre a luta da comunidade LGBT e sobre o ato revolucionário de existir em meio ao medo e ao preconceito sem perder a alegria.

Tipo uma história de amor

2015 Lambda Literary Award Nominee, Best LGBT Debut 2015 Lambda Literary Award Nominee, Best LGBT Debut Winner in the "Gay and Lesbian Fiction" category of the 2014 International Book Awards Finalist in the Best Multicultural Fiction Category at the 2014 Next Generation Indie Book Awards "Absorbing entertainment. I walked into Nazemian's walk-in closet and didn't want to walk out." Kelly Oxford, author of Everything is Perfect When You're a Liar "Absolutely engrossing read from page one- Abdi Nazemian has painted a world so vivid and real that even if you know nothing of 'Tehrangeles', by the end you feel as if you are a part it. I simply COULD NOT put this book down! " Busy Philipps "At once wickedly funny and devastatingly moving, The Walk-In Closet is a thrilling ride from start to finish. Nazemian surprises with every turn he takes, telling a story that vividly illustrates the price of living in a closet." Chaz Bono, author of Family Outing, The End of Innocence and Transition "I relished every moment of this warm, funny, brutally engaging novel. Abdi Nazemian's Los Angeles is both uncannily familiar and entirely foreign. Put this in the canon of LA literature: Nazemian has written a side of Los Angeles prevalent in real life but rarely seen in fiction." Katherine Taylor, author of Rules for Saying Goodbye "Ladies: If you like Shahs of Sunset you'll love The Walk-In Closet. Abdi Nazemian shines a white hot, entertaining spotlight on the ins and outs of Tehrangeles. Abdi will get your inner Persian princess purring. Curl up and enjoy this fabulous debut!" -- Jessica Bendinger, author of The Seven Rays, screenwriter of Bring it On and Sex and the City "The Walk-In Closet is a contemporary fable of love, loss and redemption, set between cultures and between the sexes. Written at a spanking pace, with humor, suspense and a heart, it captures the voice of a generation and paves the way to a new genre of literary fiction." Lila Azam Zanganeh, author of The Enchanter: Nabokov and Happiness Kara Walker has never found much glamour in her own life, especially not when compared to the life of her best friend Bobby Ebadi. Bobby, along with his sophisticated parents Leila and Hossein, is everything Kara always wanted to be. The trio provides the perfect antidote to what Kara views as the more mundane problems of her girlfriends and her divorced parents. And so when the Ebadis assume that Kara is Bobby's girlfriend, she willingly steps into the role. She enjoys the perks of life in this closet, not only Leila's designer hand-me-downs and free rent, but also the excitement of living life as an Ebadi. As Kara's 30th birthday approaches, Leila and Hossein up the pressure. They are ready for Kara to assume the mantle of the next Mrs. Ebadi, and Bobby seems prepared to give them what they want: the illusion of a traditional home and grandchildren. How far will Kara be willing to go? And will she be willing to pull the Persian rug out from under them when she discovers that her own secret is just one of many lurking inside the Ebadi closet?

The Walk-In Closet

Aditi Khorana

Natasha Díaz

Katherine Locke

Kelly Loy Gilbert

Preeti Chhibber

Dahlia Adler

Karuna Riazi

Candace Buford

Laura Pohl

Kosoko Jackson

Sonora Reyes

Cory McCarthy

A.R. Capetta

Fourteen acclaimed authors showcase the beautiful and diverse ways holidays are observed in this festive anthology. Keep the celebrations going all year long with this captivating and joyful read!

From Lunar New Year to Solstice, Día de Los Muertos to Juneteenth, and all the incredible days in between, it’s clear that Americans don’t just have one holiday. Edited by the esteemed Dahlia Adler and authored by creators who have lived these festive experiences firsthand, this joyful collection of stories shows that there isn’t one way to experience a holiday.

With stories

Dahlia Adler, Sydney Taylor Honor winner of Going Bicoastal

Candace Buford, author of Good as Gold

A. R. Capetta and Cory McCarthy, authors of the Once & Future series

Preeti Chhibber, author of Payal Mehta’s Romance Revenge Plot

Natasha Díaz, award-winning author of Color Me In

Kelly Loy Gilbert, Stonewall Book Award winning author of Picture Us in the Light

Kosoko Jackson, USA Today bestselling author of The Forest Demands Its Due

Aditi Khorana, award-winning author of Mirror in the Sky

Katherine Locke, award-winning author of This Rebel Heart

Abdi Nazemian, Stonewall Book Award–winning author of Only This Beautiful Moment

Laura Pohl, New York Times bestselling author of The Grimrose Girls

Sonora Reyes, Pura Belpré Honor winner of The Lesbiana’s Guide to Catholic School

Karuna Riazi, contributor to The Grimoire of Grim Fates

For the Rest of Us: 13 Festive Holiday Stories to Celebrate All Seasons

From Abdi Nazemian, the award-winning author of Like a Love Story and Only This Beautiful Moment, comes a suspenseful contemporary YA novel about loss and love.

Fifteen-year-old Kam is head over heels for Ash, the boy who swept him off his feet. But his family and best friend, Bodie, are worried. Something seems off about Ash. He also has a habit of disappearing, at times for days. When Ash asks Kam to join him on a trip to Joshua Tree, the two of them walk off into the sunset . . . but only Kam returns.

Two years later, Kam is still left with a hole in his heart and too many unanswered questions. So it feels like fate when a school trip takes him back to Joshua Tree. On the trip, Kam wants to find closure about what happened to Ash but instead finds himself in danger of facing a similar fate. In the desert, Kam must reckon with the truth of his past relationship—and the possibility of opening himself up to love once again.

Desert Echoes is a propulsive, moving story about human resilience and connection.

Desert Echoes

2019. Moud is an out gay teen living in Los Angeles with his distant father, Saeed. When Moud gets the news that his grandfather in Iran is dying, he accompanies his dad to Tehran, where the revelation of family secrets will force Moud into a new understanding of his history, his culture, and himself. 1978. Saeed is an engineering student with a promising future ahead of him in Tehran. But when his parents discover his involvement in the country' s burgeoning revolution, they send him to safety in America, a country Saeed despises. And even worse— he' s forced to live with the American grandmother he never knew existed. 1939. Bobby, the son of a calculating Hollywood stage mother, lands a coveted MGM studio contract. But the fairy-tale world of glamour he' s thrust into has a dark side. Bobby is forced to hide his sexuality for fear of losing everything.Set against the backdrop of Tehran and Los Angeles, this tale of intergenerational trauma and love is an ode to the fragile bonds of family, the hidden secrets of history, and all the beautiful moments that make us who we are today.

Na Academia Chandler, um internato da elite, cinco adolescentes são selecionados para fazer parte do Círculo, um grupo de escrita seleto e exclusivo: Beth, uma "local" que não consegue se enturmar; Sarah, que só quer esquecer traumas do passado; Amanda, filha da elite de Nova York; Ramin, um garoto que fugiu dos perigos de ser gay no Irã apenas para sofrer com os trotes violentos da escola; e Freddy, um atleta de destaque que não sabe mais o que quer fazer da vida. Nesse grupo, eles vão criar amizades improváveis e aprender a escrever suas verdades para denunciar as violências que acontecem na instituição. Mas será que a verdade é o suficiente para mudar a longa cultura de abuso da Academia? E será que a amizade deles poderá sobreviver às consequências? Do autor best-seller de Tipo uma história de amor, Abdi Nazemian, O legado de Chandler é uma história emocionante e mordaz sobre privilégio e silenciamento em uma escola de elite e o que acontece quando um grupo de amigos improváveis ousa questionar o status quo por meio da escrita.

Abdi Nazemian

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