Desert Echoes

By Author / Illustrator

Abdi Nazemian

Genre

LBGTQ+

Age range(s)

14+

Publisher

Little Tiger

ISBN

9781788957342

Format

Paperback / softback

Published

26-09-2024

Synopsis

From a Stonewall Honor-winning author comes a propulsive, moving story about human resilience and connection. Perfect for fans of Last Night at the Telegraph Club, The Great Godden and If You Still Recognise Me.

15-year-old Kam is head over heels for Ash, the boy who swept him off his feet. But his family and best friend, Bodie, are worried. They struggle to understand Ash. He also has a habit of disappearing, at times for days. When Ash asks Kam to join him on a trip to Joshua Tree, the two of them walk off into the sunset ... but only Kam returns.

Two years later, Kam is still left with a hole in his heart and too many unanswered questions. So it feels like fate when a school trip takes him back to Joshua Tree. On the trip, Kam wants to find closure about what happened to Ash, but instead finds himself in danger of facing a similar fate. In the desert, Kam must reckon with the truth of his past relationship - and the possibility of opening himself up to love once again.

Praise for Only This Beautiful Moment: "A complex coming-of-age-story of these three boys who are inextricably linked, not only by family but in ways yet revealed. Abdi never fails to weave a powerful and moving story." Taylor Jenkins Reid, author of Daisy Jones & The Six. "A deeply human story fuelled by love, hope, and longing." Wibke Brueggemann, author of Love is for Losers. "A stunning intergenerational coming-of-age story" Kirkus, Starred Review. "The kind of story that YA literature was made for" Booklist.

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Reviews

Clare

Desert Echoes is a tender, thoughtful story full of flawed and fragile individuals grappling with the confusion and complexity of grief and growing-up. Kam's boyfriend Ash has disappeared, presumed dead, after a trip goes disastrously and heart-breakingly wrong. Floored by grief, Kam listlessly goes through the motions of life, even withdrawing from best friend, Bodie. Shocking revelations about Ash compound his grief and confusion but when a trip to the site of Ash's disappearance is mooted, Kam surpsies himself and others by agreeing to go. Whilst he sees the trip as an opportunity to lay the ghost of his boyfriend to rest, a surprising turn of events sees him facing the future with renewed hope and understanding.

This is a gentle, warm-hearted read with some endearing characters and relatably complex family/friend relationships. Contemporary themes of climate and culture feature and there are plenty of pop culture references. Although the story-telling may be a little slow for some, the author doesn't shy away from difficult issues.

A book full of empathy, hope and resilience.

352 pages / Reviewed by Clare Wilkins, school librarian