Only on the Weekends
by Dean Atta
High School    Balzer + Bray/HarperCollins    560 pp.   g
5/22    978-0-06-315798-9    $18.99
e-book ed.  978-0-06-315800-9    $12.99

This novel in verse follows the first romantic relationship experiences of a Black, queer, fat teenage boy learning to find love and acceptance within himself. Mack lives in London with his movie director father, whom he rarely sees. His loneliness lifts when he begins a romance with his longtime crush, male classmate K, who is not out; Mack reluctantly agrees to keep the relationship secret but wishes their time together included more than handholding and kissing. When Mack and his father move to Glasgow for two months to film a documentary about Fin, a social media–famous transgender teen, Mack struggles with long-distance intimacy and with his newly developing feelings for Fin. Short stanzas break up the lengthy text, easing readability. Mack’s romantic struggles and insecurities are relatable to a broad audience, and the characters are varied enough in race, nationality, religion, sexual orientation, and gender identity that many teens will recognize themselves.

From the July/August 2022 issue of The Horn Book Magazine.