Where You'll Find Us
From the critically acclaimed author of IF TOMORROW DOESN’T COME
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- £5.99
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- £5.99
Publisher Description
'A tender love letter to queer people across the ages' Kelly Quindlen, bestselling author of She Drives Me Crazy
In this beautifully profound YA novel, a trans teen finds a home where queer kids from all different decades have found refuge from hatred-and from time.
Calla Quick has no future. Her parents disowned her, and now she can’t afford to go to an all-women’s college with her girlfriend Ramona like they planned. But maybe that’s for the best – because recently Calla has been questioning whether she’s a girl at all.
Then Calla and Ramona discover Amaranth – a haven for queer kids throughout history. It's a place free of hate, and time itself. Here, Calla can be Cal. They don’t have to worry about the future, because at Amaranth, it will never come . . . until one night, the clock strikes twelve.
Now, the housemates must find a way to stop time again or face going back to their harsh realities. But as Cal learns everyone’s story, they begin to wonder what queer people lose when their history is lost to time.
'Unflinchingly honest, wildly romantic and quietly magical' Aiden Thomas, bestselling author of Cemetery Boys
'A stunning mix of historical, speculative and contemporary queer fiction, with heartbreak and hope on every page' Adrienne Tooley, author of Sweet & Bitter Magic
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
St. Jude (If Tomorrow Doesn't Come) dazzles with a layered, cathartic story about a transgender teen's discovery of a magical liminal space that empowers them to be their most authentic self. Indiana-born Cal feels trapped in their body. After drunkenly confessing "I don't think I'm a girl" to their girlfriend, Ramona, who balks at the idea of dating a trans guy, Cal longs for more time—to figure themself out, to change Ramona's mind, and to forestall their seemingly inevitable breakup. Soon Cal and Ramona stumble upon an isolated farmhouse sheltering five queer strangers. Time doesn't pass in the refuge, called Amaranth, and some of the teens have been living there for decades. Cal believes they've found the perfect place to be themself until Amaranth's stopped clocks suddenly start ticking, forcing the group to reckon with the pasts they've been avoiding and return to the outside world. Intimate and graceful prose renders Cal's first-person narration punctuated by intermittent sections that chronicle the personal histories of Amaranth's residents, deftly portraying multiple facets of queer identity. As Cal reflects on their relationship with time, they learn that while its passing can incite feelings of overwhelm, it can also be a gift, one that brings opportunities to heal, transform, and move on. Cal reads as white; supporting characters are intersectionally diverse. Ages 14–up.
