I am just in love with this book. I spent a lot of time debating whether or not to feature this as a queer book. I realized I was thinking about it too hard. 14-year-old Josh struggles to live up to his parents’ puritanical Southern Baptist standards. As he slogs his way to high school, he falls in love, obsesses over David Bowie, and makes his own thongs, stumbling through a puberty that is cringingly realistic. This book is painfully funny. As Josh and his friends realize maybe even the adults don’t have it figured out, they discover there is room just to be themselves.
Our Bodies Electric by Zackary Vernon, (List Price: $18.95, Fitzroy Books, 9781646034574, June 2024)
Reviewed by Kelly Justice, Fountain Bookstore in Richmond, Virginia