Publisher Description
'The gay summer camp romp of my dreams' - Cale Dietrich, author of The Love Interest
Sixteen-year-old Randy Kapplehoff loves spending the summer at Camp Outland, a camp for queer teens. It's where he met his best friends. It's where he takes to the stage in the big musical. And it's where he fell for Hudson Aaronson-Lim - who's only into straight-acting guys and barely knows not-at-all-straight-acting Randy even exists.
This year, though, it's going to be different. Randy has reinvented himself as 'Del' - buff, masculine and on the market. Even if it means giving up show tunes, nail polish and his unicorn bedsheets, he's determined to get Hudson to fall for him.
But as he and Hudson grow closer, Randy has to ask himself how much is he willing to change for love. And is it really love anyway, if Hudson doesn't know who he truly is?
'A bang up-to-date Judy Blume teenage rom-com for the inclusive, switched-on generation' - Justin Myer, aka The Guyliner
'Super sweet' - Gscene Magazine
Praise for Jack of Hearts (And Other Parts)
'Jack of Hearts might be the most important queer novel of the decade' Gay Times
'Jack of Hearts won my heart' Courtney Act
'This book is filth' Julian Clary
'The affirming, sex-positive, brilliant new book that puts the "adult" into young adult literature' Attitude
'Humane, sex-positive writing of the funniest, filthiest and most heartening kind' The Guardian
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
At Camp Outland, a Connecticut sleepaway camp where everyone's queer, 16-year-old Randy feels fully himself, enjoying "who-cares-if-your-wrists-are-loose-freedom." He's been a camper there since he was 12, and he and his friends in the drama cabin live and breathe theater. But this summer is different. Randy has butched up, gone out for sports, and started going by "Del" to land camp lothario Hudson, and not just for a fling, either: Randy's been crushing for four years now, and he's out for love. But can love be built on a lie? Rosen (Jack of Hearts ) portrays Camp Outland as an LGBTQ idyll replete with queer history talks and gender-blind theater casting. He also takes on the "straight-acting" gay men who look down on Randy and his friends friends who, in turn, disapprove of masc4masc Hudson and shows that the butch-fem divide may be narrower than it seems (Randy's friends disapprove of masc4masc Hudson, and Randy has his own doubts) in a fun, inclusive story that's sex-, romance-, and LGBTQ-positive. Ages 14 up.
Customer Reviews
Great LGBTQ+ story - enjoyable read for anyone
This is a special book. I am far from being its target audience but I enjoyed its inclusivity, its honesty, it’s charming characters and it’s sense of fun. For any young LGBTQ+ person who feels alone a book like this must be a joy - a promise of better times to come. I hope LC Rosen writes more like this - it’s much needed.