Narrator Dion Graham's portrayal of Courtney "Coop" Cooper pulls listeners into this portrayal of three teens and their complicated relationship dynamics. Coop, who is straight and cisgender, longs for something more with his best friend, Jupe, but Jupe, a lesbian, is oblivious. Their relationship changes when Rae Chin appears and seems to like both of them. Graham excels at emotion, ably expressing Coop’s puzzlement at female behavior. His confusion is mirrored by Kim Mai Guest’s depictions of Rae’s misunderstandings of her two new friends. Guest’s portrayals of Rae and her sister are heartfelt and appealing. Author Stone’s delivery does not always differentiate characters, but she more than compensates with a complex, poignant look at adolescent friendship, gender, and sexuality. Her story’s ending and author’s note will satisfy listeners. E.J.F. © AudioFile 2018, Portland, Maine

The passages narrated by [Rae and Jupiter] are where Stone's writing soars, as each girl struggles to understand her sexual identity and whether it's as etched in stone as she once thought. The novel concludes, satisfyingly, with Jupiter's perspective, and readers finally get a sense of this flesh-and-blood teenager—not just a manic pixie girl sex object. In these chapters, declaring yourself—how you would like to be represented and whom you want to love and connect with—is treated with real tenderness.

08/13/2018
In Decatur, Ga., three teens in a complex love triangle navigate a fine line between friendship and romantic love. High-school junior Courtney (“Coop”) can’t deny his physical attraction to his neighbor and female best friend, Jupiter, whom he’s loved for years. She identifies as gay, but she begins to wonder about her feelings for Coop, leading to mixed messages between them. Meanwhile, new student Rae dramatically changes Courtney and Jupiter’s dynamic after befriending them, and she finds herself infatuated with them both. Divided into three sections, each narrated distinctively by one of the three protagonists, the book effectively conveys teen dynamics, early sexual exploration, and feeling left out. Stone (Dear Martin) challenges stereotypical notions of what it means to be straight, bisexual, or gay, showing how sexual identities and desires can be as complicated as the individual human brain. Ages 14–up. Agent: Katherine Dunn, InkWell Management. (Oct.)

Praise for Odd One Out:
An NPR Best Book of 2018!
“For fans of authors who dig complex relationships, like Shannon M. Parker, Ashley Woodfolk and Misa Sugiura.” –Paste Magazine

"Essential reading." –Booklist, Starred Review

"An important and necessary love story." –SLJ

"Stone challenges stereotypical notions of what it means to be straight, bisexual, or gay, showing how sexual identities and desires can be as complicated as the individual human brain." –PW

Praise for Dear Martin:
A 2018 BookExpo Editors' Buzz Selection!
An Indies Introduce Selection!
A Kids' Indie Next List pick!

"Powerful, wrenching." –John Green, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Turtles All the Way Down

"Absolutely incredible, honest, gut-wrenching. A must read!" –Angie Thomas, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Hate U Give

"Painfully timely and deeply moving." –Jodi Picoult, #1 New York Times bestselling author

"Raw and gripping." –Jason Reynolds, bestselling coauthor of All American Boys

"Teens, librarians and teachers alike will find this book a godsend. . . . Vivid and powerful." –Booklist, Starred

"A visceral portrait of a young man reckoning with the ugly, persistent violence of social injustice." –Publishers Weekly

08/01/2018
Gr 9 Up—This sophomore novel by the author of Dear Martin is something completely different. Coop has been in love with his best friend, Jupiter, for as long as he can remember. He knows his love will never be returned because Jupiter is only attracted to girls. Rae is new in town and fits into "Jupe & Coop's" orbit very comfortably. Slowly, Rae begins to recognize that she is attracted to them both. This is the setup for the love triangle book that teen fiction has needed for a long time. While ethnicity and race are built into the intersectional storytelling, this title has more of a focus on the LGBTQ+ experience. Many young readers will identify with the feelings explored: the differences between romantic love and physical love, the difficulties associated with testing the boundaries of one's own sexuality with someone who is sure of theirs, and love beyond the binary. The subject matter is handled sensitively and thoughtfully. The novel's three perspectives are provided consecutively rather than the traditional alternating structure. The consequence of this is that one loses the access to the interior monologues of characters as the story progresses, which creates gaps in the telling. Nevertheless, this is an excellent choice. VERDICT An important and necessary love story for YA that will fill a gap in collections.—Kristin Lee Anderson, Jackson County Library Services, OR

Narrator Dion Graham's portrayal of Courtney "Coop" Cooper pulls listeners into this portrayal of three teens and their complicated relationship dynamics. Coop, who is straight and cisgender, longs for something more with his best friend, Jupe, but Jupe, a lesbian, is oblivious. Their relationship changes when Rae Chin appears and seems to like both of them. Graham excels at emotion, ably expressing Coop’s puzzlement at female behavior. His confusion is mirrored by Kim Mai Guest’s depictions of Rae’s misunderstandings of her two new friends. Guest’s portrayals of Rae and her sister are heartfelt and appealing. Author Stone’s delivery does not always differentiate characters, but she more than compensates with a complex, poignant look at adolescent friendship, gender, and sexuality. Her story’s ending and author’s note will satisfy listeners. E.J.F. © AudioFile 2018, Portland, Maine

2018-07-30

Not your usual love triangle.

Decatur, Georgia, teen Courtney "Coop" Cooper lives next door to his best friend, Jupiter "Jupe" Charity-Sanchez, a girl he'd be (even more) in love with if she weren't gay—and crushing on new girl Rae (half white and half Chinese-Jamaican), who may or may not be straight. Coop agrees that Rae is pretty cute, and the three become close friends as they navigate difficult, mercurial feelings about crushes, sexuality, and friendship. Biracial (black/Latinx) Jupe has two dads: Cuban-American Papi and African-American Dad. Coop, who is black, has a single mother (his father died in a car crash) and regards Jupe's dads as father figures. Rae feels like an interloper in the midst of this intimate friendship—Coop and Jupe have been snuggling at sleepovers for years. Just to make things more complicated, Rae is unsure if she has a crush on Courtney or Jupiter. Maybe both? In this novel that is divided into three parts and narrated first by Coop, then Rae, then Jupe, Stone (Dear Martin, 2017) has created well-rounded characters whose voices are distinct. The story's authentic and honest depictions of sex, parent-free social interactions, and Gen Z's highly critical take on gender roles and sexuality hit the mark.

A he said, she said story that stands out. (Fiction. 14-18)