Publishers Weekly
04/27/2020
Andre “Dre” Rosario and Dean Arnault have one big thing in common—a parent running for U.S. president—but, at first glance, little else. Mexican-American Dre, a Democrat, is gay and out, and his dad rose to prominence defending asylum seekers. Buttoned-up Dean is white, on the asexual spectrum, and closeted, and his Republican mother wants trans soldiers banned from the military. But since no one else understands the pressures they’re under, that’s what brings them together, the two 17-year-olds soon finding that they more they talk, the closer they get. Which doesn’t mean it’s easy: Dre has problems with Dean’s mother’s politics, and Dean doesn’t know how his perfectionist mother would handle knowing who he really is, from his sexuality to his career goals. Things get more complex when the third-party candidate, a cartoonishly sleazy businessman known “for exploiting anyone and everything he could,” tries to make them a campaign issue. Though Dean’s diction veers from believably formal to somewhat robotic, Hutchinson (Brave Face) creates two likable characters in a love-against-the-odds story that effectively takes up the well-timed issue of how to love people whose beliefs one doesn’t share—whether they’re parents or prospective partners. Ages 13–up. Agent: Katie Shea Boutillier, Donald Maass Literary. (June)
From the Publisher
"Dre and Dean have got my vote!" — Adib Khorram, award-winning author of Darius the Great Is Not Okay
"While the joyful love story is front and center, Hutchinson’s deft handling of his characters provides a perfect—and surprisingly subtle—vehicle for relating the inner journeys of queer and questioning teens, most notably Dean’s exploration of his place on the asexual spectrum. Charming, humorous, nicely paced, and never dull, this timely romance will appeal beyond its genre—a must for all collections." — Booklist (starred review)
“Two likable characters in a love-against-the-odds story that effectively takes up the well-timed issue of how to love people whose beliefs one doesn’t share.” — Publishers Weekly
"A supremely charming YA romance set against the 2020 Presidential election!" — Cathy Berner, Blue Willow Bookshop
Cathy Berner
"A supremely charming YA romance set against the 2020 Presidential election!"
Adib Khorram
"Dre and Dean have got my vote!"
Booklist (starred review)
"While the joyful love story is front and center, Hutchinson’s deft handling of his characters provides a perfect—and surprisingly subtle—vehicle for relating the inner journeys of queer and questioning teens, most notably Dean’s exploration of his place on the asexual spectrum. Charming, humorous, nicely paced, and never dull, this timely romance will appeal beyond its genre—a must for all collections."
Adib Khorram
"Dre and Dean have got my vote!"
Christina Lauren
Sweet, funny, and heartbreakingly optimistic—it's the uplifting read we all need right now.
Mason Deaver
"A knockout of a book that will tug at your heartstrings."
School Library Journal
08/07/2020
Gr 8 Up—In the alternating viewpoints of cool Dre and uptight Dean, Hutchinson takes us into a relationship with more complications than most. Both teenage boys are the only children of vying Presidential candidates and, fittingly, they first meet in an election event green room. Dre, son of the liberal Latino candidate, is comfortably out to his family and his friends, while Dean's conservative mother, the opposite candidate, is not gay-friendly and Dean himself, who is white, is only beginning to admit to himself that he's somewhere on the LGBTQ spectrum. The blossoming friendship between the boys occurs in crossing paths on the campaign trail, in private app chats, and phone calls. Hutchinson imbues all the minor as well as main characters with credible personalities and provides a thoughtful depiction of how different kinds of interpersonal relationships within and beyond families shape individuals and friendships. VERDICT This is more than just an election year story and will have staying power in high school and public library teen fiction collections.—Francisca Goldsmith, Lib. Ronin, Worcester, MA
