South Carolina Association of School Librarians Young Adult Book Award Nominees

Ruta Septys’ award winning story focuses on a young Romanian, Cristian, in the 1989 before the Berlin Wall fell and the Soviet Union collapsed. Forced by his Communist government to become an informant on his family and friends, Cristian seeks ways to rebel against the oppressive regime. 

In this atypical love story between a neurodivergent girl and a young man struggling with addiction, this young couple is incredibly relatable in their abnormality. With parental pressure as they go towards graduation, they must confront their own struggles as well as decide whether they want to be I each other’s lives.