Ami Polonsky

Told in two voices, seventh-graders Essie, in North Carolina for just one semester, and Ollie, a non-binary, "gender weird" classmate, develop a gentle romance while Essie ponders her label.--

"1987. Iris tries to act normal at school, going through the motions and joking around with her friends, but it feels like she'll never laugh again. How can she, when her dad is dying of a virus that is off-limits to talk about? When she knows that soon all she will have left of her kind, loving dad are memories, photos, and a binder full of the poems they used to exchange? Iris resolves to speak out against the rampant fear, misinformation, and prejudice...