

They beat him badly, and one of them hurls him through the glass door of their building, causing many injuries. After a consultation, he is attacked by a group of his childhood friends. He later tries to kiss Thomas but is rejected and informed that Thomas is definitely straight.ĭistraught, Aaron considers getting the Leteo procedure despite the protests of his family and friends.

Aaron is convinced that Thomas is gay as well and comes out to him. He breaks up with his girlfriend rather than continuing to lie to her to protect himself. Without Genevieve around, Thomas and Aaron spend a lot of time together, and Aaron realizes that he is attracted to Thomas and has romantic feelings toward him. When Genevieve goes to an art retreat for a few weeks, Aaron feels lost-until he connects with Thomas, a peer who lives in another project and whom Aaron met at a recent community event. He adores his girlfriend, Genevieve, who is an artist like Aaron. Aaron himself bears the scar of a recent suicide attempt, but he is determined to make a fresh start and move forward. Aaron shares a one-bedroom apartment with his mother and brother his father recently committed suicide. The story unfolds in a fictionalized near future in which the Leteo Institute has pioneered a procedure that allows people to forget painful memories.

The novel follows Aaron Soto, a 16-year-old boy who lives in a housing project in the Bronx, New York. It was also honored by the Indies Choice Book Awards and was a finalist for Lambda Literary Award. The novel made the New York Times best-seller list and was selected for several awards: CCBC Choices, School Library Journal Best Books of the Year, Junior Library Guild Selections, and the We Are Kid Lit Collective Summer Reading Lists.
