Amy Feltman

"Morgan Flowers has spent their adolescence following all the rules. Raised by their neuro-divergent father Julian and recently deceased grandmother, nonbinary Morgan grew up painfully aware of all they needed to do to stay out of trouble and maintain their scholarship, and of their mother Zoe's absence. Dazzling, dangerous, and increasingly alcoholic Zoe, who fled to Europe on a trust fund, believed that Julian and his mother would raise Morgan better than she could've. And she's right, in a sense. Julian has raised Morgan with care, but now at seventeen, Morgan is struggling with gender and trauma, while falling in love with the only other scholarship kid at school, in ways Julian can't quite understand. When Zoe reappears in New York on a bender after her ex kicks her out of their Lisbon apartment, she upends each of their lives. Through it all, Zoe's ex Brigid has been an unlikely pen-pal for Julian, whose autism keeps him at an arm's length from everyone besides Morgan-but Brigid understands what it's like to love and lose Zoe, and their secrets feel safe with each other. And when Zoe's return propels Morgan into a dizzying series of mistakes, Brigid might be the link that can pull them back from the edge. A story of betrayal, addiction, and angst alongside queer love, joy, and acceptance, ALL THE THINGS WE DON'T TALK ABOUT is as a celebration of and a reckoning with the power and unintentional pain of a modern family"--

All the Things We Don't Talk about

For fans of What Belongs to You by Garth Greenwell and The Futures by Anna Pitoniak, a soul-piercing debut that explores the intertwining of past and present, queerness, and coming of age in uncertain times. Willa's darkness enters Hesper's light late one night in Brooklyn. Theirs is a whirlwind romance until Willa starts to know Hesper too well, to crawl into her hidden spaces, and Hesper shuts her out. She runs, following her fractured family back to her grandfather's hometown of Tbilisi, Georgia, looking for the origin story that he is no longer able to tell. But once in Tbilisi, cracks appear in her grandfather's history-and a massive flood is heading toward Georgia, threatening any hope for repair. Meanwhile, heartbroken Willa is so desperate to leave New York that she joins a group trip for Jewish twentysomethings to visit Holocaust sites in Germany and Poland, hoping to override her emotional state. When it proves to be more fraught than home, she must come to terms with her past-the ancestral past, her romantic past, and the past that can lead her forward. Told from alternating perspectives, and ending in the shadow of Trump's presidency, WILLA & HESPER is a deeply moving, cerebral, and timely debut

Willa & Hesper

Now in paperback, a "big-hearted, lively, and expansive portrait of a family" that follows a neurodivergent father, his nonbinary teenager, and the sudden, catastrophic reappearance of the woman who abandoned them (Claire Lombardo, New York Times bestselling author). Morgan Flowers just wants to hide. Raised by their neurodivergent father, Morgan has grown up haunted by the absence of their mysterious mother Zoe, especially now, as they navigate their gender identity and the turmoil of first love. Their father Julian has raised Morgan with care, but he can't quite fill the gap left by the dazzling and destructive Zoe, who fled to Europe on Morgan's first birthday. And when Zoe is dumped by her girlfriend Brigid, she suddenly comes crashing back into Morgan and Julian's lives, poised to disrupt the fragile peace they have so carefully cultivated. Through it all, Julian and Brigid have become unlikely pen-pals and friends, united by the knowledge of what it's like to love and lose Zoe; they both know that she hasn't changed. Despite the red flags, Morgan is swiftly drawn into Zoe's glittering orbit and into a series of harmful missteps, and Brigid may be the only link that can pull them back from the edge. A story of betrayal and trauma alongside queer love and resilience, ALL THE THINGS WE DON'T TALK ABOUT is a celebration of and a reckoning with the power and unintentional pain of a thoroughly modern family.

Amy Feltman

About

Books

Join the club