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Sugarless/The Hour Between

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Sugarless

James Magruder’s Sugarless is a bittersweet take on coming out and coming-of-age. Rick Lahrem, a high-school sophomore, is freaking out. His mother’s second husband is a psychologist who’s mad as a March Hare; his stepsister's a stoner sex-fiend; and his dad’s engaged to a snotty Southern belle. His only respite from the insanity is a thatch of original Broadway-cast LPs.

After bringing two girls in speech class to tears by reading a story aloud, Rick's invited onto an interscholastic forensics team to perform a dramatic interpretation of The Boys in the Band, the controversial sixties play about homosexuality. Unexpectedly victorious at this strange event, he begins winning tournaments and getting close with his fellow teammates.

Rick discovers the joys of sex at the hands of a speech coach from a rival school just as his mother makes a disturbing and fanatical commitment to Christ. He tries to take these nerve-wracking developments in stride—until the combined forces of family, sex and faith threaten to bring him down at a state meet in Peoria. Alternately sidesplitting and cringe-inducing, Magruder’s book hilariously exposes the agonies of adolescence.

The Hour Between

Imbuing the traditional fish-out-of-water tale with an equal mix of darkness and high camp, Sebastian Stuart’s gripping novel The Hour Between involves troubled teen Arthur MacDougal, a confused young man who’s unceremoniously booted from a prestigious all-boys’ school in Manhattan, only to be shuttled off via his outraged parents to the Christian Science-inflected Spooner School.

There, in the isolated woods of Connecticut, Arthur meets an ally in Katrina Felt, the charming though haunted daughter of a celebrated Hollywood star. The two quickly forge a special bond as Arthur struggles to come to terms with his sexuality and Katrina’s prodigious talent lands her a role in a Broadway musical… but as Arthur takes steps towards coming into his own and accepting himself, Katrina is slowly but surely pulled down by the secrets and sorrows of her past.

By the end of the school year, their lives will be forever changed. Set in the lively late 1960s, this is a compelling snapshot of a particular place and time, complete with drugs, sex, rock 'n roll, crackling dialogue and an unforgettable palate of secondary characters (including a certain Andy Warhol!)