Pete Cross portrays two gay teenagers who are coming of age in New York during the height of the AIDS epidemic in this moving, messy, and deeply personal story. Micah is a closeted teen who is desperate for gay friends and experiences; C.J. is a charismatic dancer with a penchant for telling elaborate lies. Cross voices C.J. in a suave, self-assured tone, which he lowers and softens when C.J. finally opens up to Micah. Micah’s voice is full of the terror, longing, and confusion of coming out and falling in love during a period of great loss. Konigsberg reads his author’s note, in which he reflects on his life as a gay teenager during the same time period. It makes for a poignant end to a beautiful audiobook. L.S. © AudioFile 2022, Portland, Maine
Destination Unknown
Narrated by Pete Cross
Bill KonigsbergUnabridged — 8 hours, 5 minutes
Destination Unknown
Narrated by Pete Cross
Bill KonigsbergUnabridged — 8 hours, 5 minutes
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Overview
Editorial Reviews
07/04/2022
Konigsberg (The Bridge) draws on personal experiences, as detailed in an author’s note, to deliver a touching love story between two gay teens, set in 1987 New York at the height of the AIDS epidemic. Sparks fly when closeted Jewish Micah Strauss, 17, meets offbeat, out CJ Gorman, 18 and wearing a plexiglass bra, in a nightclub bathroom. The pair bond over music from period-specific musicians such as Wham!, and deliver meals to people with AIDS. Though Micah is immediately captivated, calling CJ “a puzzle I needed to solve,” the two decide they’re better off as friends after engaging in awkward sex. But upon discovering that CJ is an exotic dancer, Micah is overcome with jealousy around CJ’s patrons. A compassionate cast, including Micah’s affectionate mother and a mentoring lesbian coworker, supports him as he learns more about queer people’s triumphs and trials, and reevaluates his place within the community while falling hard for CJ. Konigsberg’s keen sense of time and place, coupled with an optimistic atmosphere, make for both a swoony romance and a sensitive, nuanced look into a tumultuous period in history. Characters cue as white. Ages 14–up. Agent: Linda Epstein, Emerald City Literary. (Sept.)
Praise for Destination Unknown:
"Bill Konigsberg's Destination Unknown masterfully takes us back to one of the most difficult chapters in queer history with the kind of astounding specificity that comes from lived experience. The book is a beautiful account of the way hope, love, and connection will bloom even in the darkest of times. It's a love story, a celebration of queer resilience and a must read." — Abdi Nazemian, author of Stonewall Honor book Like a Love Story
* "[T]he arguable best of Konigsberg's excellent novels, and that's high praise indeed." — Booklist, starred review
* "[A] tour de force: an exploration of a relationship that pulls back the curtains on queer 1980s New York City to reveal a community wrestling with life and death... Historical fiction at its finest." — Kirkus Reviews, starred review
"Konigsberg's keen sense of time and place, coupled with an optimistic atmosphere, make for both a swoony romance and a sensitive, nuanced look into a tumultuous period in history." — Publishers Weekly
"An intense but ultimately uplifting purchase crucial to augmenting any historical fiction collection." — School Library Journal
Praise for The Bridge:
A Junior Library Guild Selection
"The Bridge swept me up and swept me along, and made me forget everything but this book, this book, this book. A powerful, honest, heart-tugging, nail-biting, so-real-it-reaches-into-your-bones story about suicide and mental health and the ways in which too many of us struggle alone. Except we're not alone. Bill Konigsberg makes that beautifully, movingly clear. Stunning." — Jennifer Niven, New York Times bestselling author of All the Bright Places
"An incredibly meaningful look into the lives-and deaths-of two teens struggling with thoughts of suicide. Compulsively readable and astonishingly important, Aaron and Tillie's storywill stay with you for a long time after you've turned the last page." — Brigid Kemmerer, New York Times Bestselling Author of Letters to the Lost
* "Konigsberg's approach underscores depression's coercive power and the gifts of human connection, and he sharpens a universal story by populating it with distinctly individual characters." — Publishers Weekly, starred review
* "With each narrative thread focusing on Aaron or Tillie, along with brief vignettes highlighting the lives of those they are close to, Konigsberg (The Music of What Happens, 2019) constructs an intricate tale brimming with questions and possibilities. Messy, complicated, and sometimes alarmingly candid, this is a poignant, sincere look at the many ways mental illness affects young people, as well as those they know and love." — Booklist, starred review
"A heartbreaking bridge into depression supported by a strong foundation of hope." — Kirkus Reviews
Praise for The Music of What Happens:
* "Konigsberg demonstrates once again why he is one of the major voices in LGBTQ literature." — Booklist, starred review
* "Give to fans of Benjamin Alire Sáenz's Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe and Laurie Halse Anderson's Speak. A first purchase for public and high school libraries." — School Library Journal, starred review
"The result is a story with imperfect characters who are, refreshingly, called out on problematic behaviors and aim to do better. A fresh addition to the menu of queer teenage love stories." — Kirkus Reviews
"Konigsberg explores how conventional ideas about masculinity trap young men into believing they must act a certain way... A fun, romantic, and moving novel." — Publishers Weekly
"Readers seeking an unusually thoughtful gay-positive romance will find this moving." — The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books
"This book offers an interesting perspective on growing up and coming-of-age by crafting two main characters who offer unique points of view for an often underserved audience. This is a much-needed book in every high school library." — School Library Connection
"With The Music of What Happens, Bill Konigsberg serves up a profound examination of masculinity, consent, and relationships through the eyes of two of the most endearing narrators I've ever read. Jordan and Max are vulnerable, sweet, funny, and flawed. Teens, hether they identify as LGBTQIA+ or not, are lucky to have this book in their lives." — Shaun David Hutchinson, author of We Are the Ants
"The Music of What Happens is a compelling, laugh-out-loud story, as swoon-worthy as it is deeply affecting. Max and Jordan grabbed hold of my heart from the moment I met them and I don't see them letting go any time soon. Konigsberg has a way of making me see the world — and food trucks! — a little differently." — David Arnold, New York Times bestselling author of Mosquitoland and The Strange Fascinations of Noah Hypnotik
"Bill Konigsberg has a way of creating characters that could be your next door neighbor, your best friend, or that cute boy who once helped you change a flat tire. Max and Jordan will find their way into your heart, and after the last page, you'll regret that they aren't real. Once you start reading The Music of What Happens, you won't be able to stop." — Brigid Kemmerer, author of Letters to the Lost
11/01/2022
Gr 9 Up—Micah seemingly has every reason to be a comfortable, confident teenager in New York City—except the year is 1987, and he is well aware of the dangers facing young gay men like himself in the midst of the AIDS epidemic. It is only after his encounter with CJ, a flamboyant, proud teen only a year older, that Micah begins to realize that being queer can be more than clandestine encounters and early death. As the two boys grow closer and CJ's outrageous, compulsive lies give way to quieter, scarier truths, Micah begins to embrace his own place in the queer community. The vision of this community constructed by Konigsberg is complex and vast, ranging from a run-in with Marsha P. Johnson to Micah's father's wealthy, seemingly hetero-assimilated gay friend. The glaring inequity between the experiences of queer white boys like CJ and Micah and their Black and brown counterparts is not overlooked. Although AIDS is inescapable, the focus remains on Micah's personal growth from a closeted boy to an activist arrested at a die-in protest. Modern teens may also see parallels between the events that lead to Micah's activism and the events currently urging young queer people into tenacious self-advocacy. VERDICT An intense but ultimately uplifting purchase crucial to augmenting any historical fiction collection.—Austin Ferraro
Pete Cross portrays two gay teenagers who are coming of age in New York during the height of the AIDS epidemic in this moving, messy, and deeply personal story. Micah is a closeted teen who is desperate for gay friends and experiences; C.J. is a charismatic dancer with a penchant for telling elaborate lies. Cross voices C.J. in a suave, self-assured tone, which he lowers and softens when C.J. finally opens up to Micah. Micah’s voice is full of the terror, longing, and confusion of coming out and falling in love during a period of great loss. Konigsberg reads his author’s note, in which he reflects on his life as a gay teenager during the same time period. It makes for a poignant end to a beautiful audiobook. L.S. © AudioFile 2022, Portland, Maine
★ 2022-05-25
Two drastically different gay teens meet in New York City in 1987 at the height of the AIDS pandemic.
Introverted Micah Strauss lives a sheltered life on the Upper West Side with his liberal Jewish parents, who are clueless about his sexuality. CJ Gorman is his opposite: an openly gay, fast-talking, sometimes-compulsive liar who enraptures Micah from the first moment he sees CJ in a plexiglass bra at a dance club: “He looked to me like everything I never would be.” For Micah, unemotional hookups with closeted jocks from his school are the extent of his contact with anyone not straight. What ensues is a tour de force: an exploration of a relationship that pulls back the curtains on queer 1980s New York City to reveal a community wrestling with life and death. With care, emotional depth, and a myriad of period music references, Konigsberg expertly balances Micah’s wonder, fear, despair, and outrage at coming out during the AIDS crisis. Strong characterizations of Micah and CJ are buoyed by excellent dialogue and believable secondary characters—Micah’s doting mother, caring but passive father, hurt and jealous best friend Deena, and supportive lesbian boss—propelling this exhilarating page-turner. It’s sure to be an emotional eye-opener for those who did not live through this time and a resonant picture of resilience, community, and activism for those who did. Micah and CJ are White, as is most of the supporting cast.
Historical fiction at its finest. (author’s note) (Fiction. 14-18)
Product Details
| BN ID: | 2940174971974 |
|---|---|
| Publisher: | Scholastic, Inc. |
| Publication date: | 09/06/2022 |
| Edition description: | Unabridged |
| Age Range: | 8 - 11 Years |
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