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Autoboyography
416 pages
A tender, witty, and deeply felt exploration of first love colliding with the heavy expectations of faith and family.
What it feels like
Reading this book feels like being swept up in the breathless, all-consuming rush of a first crush, only to have your heart gently broken and carefully put back together. The pacing is brisk and engaging, driven by a narrative voice that balances wry teenage cynicism with profound, earnest vulnerability. It immerses you in an atmosphere that is simultaneously sunlit and shadowed by the heavy, complicated realities of religious expectations and family dynamics. The prose is conversational and sharp, making the quiet moments of connection feel just as monumental as the inevitable emotional collisions. It is a deeply satisfying experience for anyone who loves a romance that earns its swoon-worthy moments through genuine emotional stakes, offering a tender, hopeful look at the courage it takes to live authentically.
- Mood
- tender
- angsty
- hopeful
- heart-swelling
- Tone
- wry
- earnest
- vulnerable
- humorous
- Pace
- brisk
- Themes
- first love · religious identity vs. sexuality · the courage to be seen · family acceptance · coming out
- The writing
- The narrative voice is conversational, witty, and emotionally immediate, perfectly capturing the overwhelming, all-consuming nature of teenage infatuation.
- The arc
- The journey shifts from guarded, witty cynicism to the breathless vulnerability of first love, navigating deep heartache before arriving at a hard-won, hopeful resolution.
- Who it's for
- Perfect for readers who crave swoony, banter-filled YA romances that don't shy away from the messy, painful intersections of faith, family, and queer identity.
Content notes
- homophobia
- religious guilt
- forced outing
- underage drinking
About the book
Three years ago, Tanner Scott’s family relocated from California to Utah, a move that nudged the bisexual teen temporarily back into the closet. Now, with one semester of high school to go, and no obstacles between him and out-of-state college freedom, Tanner plans to coast through his remaining classes and clear out of Utah.
But when his best friend Autumn dares him to take Provo High’s prestigious Seminar—where honor roll students diligently toil to draft a book in a semester—Tanner can’t resist going against his better judgment and having a go, if only to prove to Autumn how silly the whole thing is. Writing a book in four months sounds simple. Four months is an eternity.
It turns out, Tanner is only partly right: four months is a long time. After all, it takes only one second for him to notice Sebastian Brother, the Mormon prodigy who sold his own Seminar novel the year before and who now mentors the class. And it takes less than a month for Tanner to fall completely in love with him.
Description from Open Library.
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