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Blood City Rollers (Blood City Rollers #1)
by V.P. AndersonSkates on. Fangs out. Let&’s roll. This perfectly paranormal graphic novel about a 13-year-old ice skater who embraces the dark side and finds her light when she joins a vampire roller derby team is to die for.Ice-skater Mina is on a one-track path to Olympic gold and glory—that is, until she totally wipes out at her biggest competition, and is kinda-sorta-kidnapped by undead kids on roller skates. Sucked into the high stakes world of Paranormal Roller Derby, she finds herself "recruited" by a squad of vampires who need a human player to complete their team—just in time to save the league from losing it all.Between learning to play derby well enough to kick butt on the track, crushing hard on the dreamy team captain, and navigating the spooky rules of the supernatural, how can Mina go from striving to be a ten alone, to becoming one of nine chaotic bodies forming a perfectly-imperfect team? Forget being the best. Will she be enough to help her new friends survive the season?
Blood Justice (Blood Debts)
by Terry J. Benton-WalkerBlood Justice is the hotly anticipated sequel to Terry J. Benton-Walker's debut Blood Debts.'An extravaganza' Chloe GongCristina and Clement Trudeau have conjured the impossible: justice. Having restored their family's stolen throne, the time has come to look forward to a brighter future for the magical community. But for Valentina Savant, she lost everything and is hellbent on revenge. And lucky for her, she's not the only one. Hateful anti-magic protesters and a ruthless detective with a personal vendetta sabotage their reign at every turn. Worst of all, to protect the boy he loves, Clem has summoned a brutal god that stalks them from the shadows. Shocking murders, disappearances, and new alliances are changing the game forever - and not everyone will survive the final round.'Sings with hope and barely disguised rage'TJ Klune
Blood Justice (Blood Debts)
by Terry J. Benton-WalkerBlood Justice is the hotly anticipated sequel to Terry J. Benton-Walker's debut Blood Debts.'An extravaganza' Chloe GongCristina and Clement Trudeau have conjured the impossible: justice. Having restored their family's stolen throne, the time has come to look forward to a brighter future for the magical community. But for Valentina Savant, she lost everything and is hellbent on revenge. And lucky for her, she's not the only one. Hateful anti-magic protesters and a ruthless detective with a personal vendetta sabotage their reign at every turn. Worst of all, to protect the boy he loves, Clem has summoned a brutal god that stalks them from the shadows. Shocking murders, disappearances, and new alliances are changing the game forever - and not everyone will survive the final round.'Sings with hope and barely disguised rage'TJ Klune
Blood Justice (Blood Debts #2)
by Terry J. Benton-WalkerBlood Justice is the hotly anticipated sequel to Terry J. Benton-Walker’s Most Anticipated debut Blood Debts.Praise for Blood Debts: “A conjuring of magnificence.” —NIC STONE • “A force.” —ROSEANNE A. BROWN • “An extravaganza.” —CHLOE GONG • “Powerful.” —AYANA GRAY • “Sings with hope and rage.” —TJ KLUNE • “An unforgettable thrill ride.” —J. ELLE • “Steeped in magic.” —ALEXIS HENDERSON • “Crackles with mystery and ferocity.” —MARK OSHIROCristina and Clement Trudeau have conjured the impossible: justice. They took back their family’s stolen throne to lead New Orleans’ magical community into the brighter future they all deserve. But when Cris and Clem restored their family power, Valentina Savant lost everything. Her beloved grandparents are gone and her sovereignty has been revoked—she will never be Queen. Unless, of course, someone dethrones the Trudeaus again. And lucky for her, she’s not the only one trying to take them down.Cris and Clem have enemies coming at them from all directions: Hateful anti-magic protesters sabotage their reign at every turn. A ruthless detective with a personal vendetta against magical crime is hot on their tail just as Cris has discovered her thirst for revenge. And a brutal god, hunting from the shadows, is summoned by the very power Clem needs to protect the boy he loves.Cris’s hunger for vengeance and Clem’s desire for love could prove to be their family’s downfall, all while new murders, shocking disappearances, and impossible alliances are changing the game forever. Welcome back to New Orleans, where gods walk among us and justice isn’t served, it’s taken.Most Anticipated from Publishers Weekly, Bookpage, TheGrio, and more!At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.
The Bone Spindle: Book 3 (The Bone Spindle #3)
by Leslie VedderTwo fighting partners. One monstrous prince. A last battle. The finale of The Bone Spindle, a fractured fairy tale based on Sleeping Beauty, with a m/f and a f/f romance. Perfect for fans of CINDERELLA IS DEAD.With Prince Briar Rose's life on the line as he slowly turns into a monster at the hands of the Spindle Witch, treasure hunter Fi must escape from a tower to rescue him.Meanwhile, her axe-wielding partner Shane is on the hunt for a mysterious weapon that holds the key to the Spindle Witch's demise. But Shane must also protect her lover, the beautiful witch Red, from the Spindle Witch's executioner.As tensions rise and partnerships crumble, Fi and Shane need to work together again, putting their treasure hunting skills to the test at the greatest lost ruin of them all - the tomb of the Witch Queen Aurora.Will they finally unravel the thread that ties them all together and defeat the Spindle Witch and her twisted creatures once and for all?Packed with kick-ass fight scenes and featuring two romantic storylines, this retelling of Sleeping Beauty is the spectacular finale to The Bone Spindle.
The Bone Spindle: Book 3 (The Bone Spindle #3)
by Leslie VedderTwo fighting partners. One monstrous prince. A last battle. The finale of The Bone Spindle, a fractured fairy tale based on Sleeping Beauty, with a m/f and a f/f romance. Perfect for fans of CINDERELLA IS DEAD.With Prince Briar Rose's life on the line as he slowly turns into a monster at the hands of the Spindle Witch, treasure hunter Fi must escape from a tower to rescue him.Meanwhile, her axe-wielding partner Shane is on the hunt for a mysterious weapon that holds the key to the Spindle Witch's demise. But Shane must also protect her lover, the beautiful witch Red, from the Spindle Witch's executioner.As tensions rise and partnerships crumble, Fi and Shane need to work together again, putting their treasure hunting skills to the test at the greatest lost ruin of them all - the tomb of the Witch Queen Aurora.Will they finally unravel the thread that ties them all together and defeat the Spindle Witch and her twisted creatures once and for all?Packed with kick-ass fight scenes and featuring two romantic storylines, this retelling of Sleeping Beauty is the spectacular finale to The Bone Spindle.
A Botanical Daughter
by Noah MedlockMexican Gothic meets The Lie Tree by way of Oscar Wilde and Mary Shelley in this delightfully witty horror debut.A captivating tale of two Victorian gentlemen hiding their relationship away in a botanical garden who embark on a Frankenstein-style experiment with unexpected consequences.It is an unusual thing, to live in a botanical garden. But Simon and Gregor are an unusual pair of gentlemen. Hidden away in their glass sanctuary from the disapproving tattle of Victorian London, they are free to follow their own interests without interference. For Simon, this means long hours in the dark basement workshop, working his taxidermical art. Gregor&’s business is exotic plants – lucrative, but harmless enough. Until his latest acquisition, a strange fungus which shows signs of intellect beyond any plant he&’s seen, inspires him to attempt a masterwork: true intelligent life from plant matter.Driven by the glory he&’ll earn from the Royal Horticultural Society for such an achievement, Gregor ignores the flaws in his plan: that intelligence cannot be controlled; that plants cannot be reasoned with; and that the only way his plant-beast will flourish is if he uses a recently deceased corpse for the substrate.The experiment – or Chloe, as she is named – outstrips even Gregor&’s expectations, entangling their strange household. But as Gregor&’s experiment flourishes, he wilts under the cost of keeping it hidden from jealous eyes. The mycelium grows apace in this sultry greenhouse. But who is cultivating whom?Told with wit and warmth, this is an extraordinary tale of family, fungus and more than a dash of bloody revenge from an exciting new voice in queer horror.
The Boy Who Fell From the Sky
by Benjamin DeanCombining the warmth and heart of Ross Welford&’s The 1,000 Year Old Boy with the epic adventure and inseparable friendship of Frank Cottrell Boyce&’s Cosmic comes an otherworldly new middle grade adventure from the award-winning Benjamin Dean. Twelve-year-old Zed has always been fascinated by the Demons that fall from the sky. His whole life his dad has worked as a Hunter, tasked with eliminating Demons once and for all, and Zed hopes to one day follow in his footsteps. But then one night Spark appears and disrupts everything Zed thought he knew. Because this Demon is nothing like the myths – he&’s a frightened boy, no older than Zed, who wants to go back home. Can Zed stand up for what&’s right, even if it means going against his own family?Praise for Benjamin Dean: &‘Warm-hearted and cheering, with a dash of sparkle&’ – Guardian 'A life-affirming, must-read' – The Independent 'The novel wears its heart on its sleeve, and it is a very big heart' – Financial Times 'Funny, fresh and full of heart' – Katie Tsang, co-author of DRAGON MOUNTAIN &‘Vibrant, funny and wise – a book to savour&’ – Kiran Millwood Hargrave, author of THE GIRL OF INK AND STARS 'A joyful and thoughtful celebration of family, identity and inclusivity' – Anna James, author of the PAGES & CO. series
The Boyfriend Fix
by Lee PiniRenowned surgeon Ben McNatt is up for the job of his dreams, and when he gets it, he&’ll be the youngest chief of neurosurgery in his hospital&’s history. His success rate is flawless, but his perceived lack of compassion is hurting his chances. He&’s always viewed relationships as a distraction, but a loving partner might change his colleagues&’ ideas about his heartlessness. He&’ll do whatever it takes for this promotion—even pretend to date. The natural choice for his fake boyfriend is the cute guy at the coffee shop. Jamie Anderson is in student loan debt up to his eyeballs. He has three roommates, and not in a quirky found-family way. He works sixty hours a week as a barista, and his boss won&’t stop hitting on him. He&’s even given up on love. He makes do with fantasies about the hot doctor that comes in for coffee every day like clockwork. A fake relationship might solve Jamie&’s handsy boss problem too. And there&’s no way it will lead to real feelings when that&’s the last thing either of them wants. So why are they having so much trouble convincing themselves they aren&’t falling for each other?
The Boyfriend Subscription
by Steven SalvatoreEqual parts sizzling, sweet and irresistibly fresh, Steven Salvatore&’s The Boyfriend Subscription is the LGBTQIA+ Pretty Woman rom-com fans have been waiting for.What happens when a simple deal gets…complicated?After losing his marriage and his beloved retail plant business, Teddy Hughes is ready to drown his sorrows—or would be, if he could afford another beer in his favorite dive bar. He has no choice but to uproot his dreams and leave New York for good. And then a gorgeous stranger walks in with cheekbones that could cut glass and a confidence that leaves Teddy panting.Like the leather harness he wears under his designer suit, Cole Vivien is a mass of contradictions. He&’s a successful entrepreneur whose app, VERSTL, allows consumers and sex workers to form real—if temporary—connections. But now Cole is in the unfamiliar position of needing something from someone else. A fake boyfriend can help Cole project a more traditional image for a potential investor. And Teddy—shy, smart and so much hotter than he knows—is perfect for the part. Maybe too perfect.Cole just has two conditions: no kissing and no falling in love. In exchange for one week together, Teddy will get enough money to get back on his feet, and no messy feelings will be in the mix.But some rules are made to be broken…From showing up to glowing up, these characters are on the path to leading their best lives and finding sizzling romance along the way.Don&’t miss these other fun titles from Afterglow Books:The (Fake) Dating Game by Timothy JanovskyThe Bookbinder&’s Guide to Love by Katherine GarberaThe Devil in Blue Jeans by Stacey KennedyFrenemy Fix-Up by Yahrah St. JohnManila Takes Manhattan by Carla de GuzmanFake Flame by Adele BuckOut of Office by A.H. Cunningham
The Breakup Lists
by Adib KhorramLove is more complicated than &“boy meets boy&” in bestselling author Adib Khorram&’s sharply funny new romantic comedy, set in the sordid world of high school theaterJackson Ghasnavi is a lot of things—a techie, a smoothie afficionado, a totally not obsessive list-maker—but one thing he&’s not is a romantic. And why would he be? He&’s already had a front row seat to his parents&’ divorce and picked up the pieces of his sister Jasmine&’s broken heart one too many times.No, Jackson is perfectly happy living life behind the scenes—he is a stage manager, after all—and keeping his romantic exploits limited to the breakup lists he makes for Jasmine, which chronicle every flaw (real or imagined) of her various and sundry exes.Enter Liam: the senior swim captain turned leading man that neither of the Ghasnavi siblings stop thinking about. Not that Jackson has a crush, of course. Jasmine is already setting her sights on him and he&’s probably—no, definitely—straight anyway.So why does the idea of eventually writing a breakup list for him feel so impossible?
Breaststrokes
by Margaux VialleronA novel on consent told in five acts over the course of one weekend. Cloe and Gertrude and the Jenkins-Bell sisters, Mathilde and Sarah, have never met. They are strangers who share a city. It is Sunday morning. Cloe has woken-up in someone else&’s home; Gertrude starts her shift in the pub kitchen, while Mathilde and Sarah are on their way to lunch. Soon, these four women&’s lives will overlap. Saturday felt like a normal day, but on Sunday the past will catch-up with them as they realise that there never is only one side to a story.Sharply observed and painfully relatable, Breaststrokes is a novel that seems to emerge from the haze of our current time. This story of unexpected encounters and intimacies is perfect for fans of Cleopatra and Frankenstein and Beautiful World, Where Are You.
Breathe: Journeys to Healthy Binding
by Maia Kobabe Sarah PeitzmeierA graphic guide to chest binding with real-life stories and research-backed advice from bestselling Gender Queer author MAIA KOBABE and University of Michigan professor SARAH PEITZMEIER. Breathe arose from the need for a resource for folks considering chest binding as gender-affirming care. Dr. Peitzmeier interviewed twenty-five people of different ages and backgrounds about their journeys with binding, and then she and Kobabe combined excerpts from those interviews with evidence-based resources on binding into this extremely accessible guide. Breathe is both a practical resource for trans and nonbinary folks and an engaging and perspective-broadening read for anyone interested in what it means to be on a journey of expressing one&’s gender in ways that are joyful, healthy, and affirming.
Bridging Hope (Bridging Hearts)
by Greyson McCoyWhen workaholic Pierce Simms&’s sister passes, he suddenly finds himself unemployed, back in the hometown he fled, and raising his niece and nephew. Despite that, he&’s confident he has things under control—at least until his sister&’s high-school sweetheart shows up. With his teaching grant ended, Dalton O&’Dell is at loose ends and tight purse strings. Just as the world crashes down on him, he learns his ex-girlfriend has passed and named him guardian of her two young children. Chaos ensues when he and her brother, Pierce, are forced together to raise the toddlers in Pierce&’s family farmhouse. Nestled in the enchanting beauty of the farm, Pierce and Dalton bond over the challenges of co-parenting and their shared grief as unexpected love blossoms. Love might not be enough, however, if they can&’t learn to bridge the gap between their different worlds and overcome the trauma of their pasts.
Broughtupsy: A Novel
by Christina CookeAt once cinematic yet intimate, Broughtupsy is an enthralling debut novel about a young Jamaican woman grappling with grief as she discovers her family, her home, is always just out of reachTired of not having a place to land, twenty-year-old Akúa flies from Canada to her native Jamaica to reconnect with her estranged sister Tamika. Their younger brother Bryson has recently passed from sickle cell anemia—the same disease that took their mother ten years prior—and Akúa carries his remains in a small wooden box with the hope of reassembling her family.Over the span of two fateful weeks, Akúa and Tamika visit significant places from their childhood, but time spent with her sister only clarifies how different they are, and how years of living abroad have distanced Akúa from her home culture. "Am I Jamaican?" she asks herself again and again. Beneath these haunting doubts lie anger and resentment at being abandoned by her own blood. "Why didn&’t you stay with me?" she wants to ask Tamika.Wandering through Kingston with her brother's ashes in tow, Akúa meets Jayda, a brash stripper who shows her a different side of the city. As the two grow closer, Akúa confronts the difficult reality of being gay in a deeply religious family, and what being a gay woman in Jamaica actually means.By turns diasporic family saga, bildungsroman, and terse sexual awakening, Broughtupsy is a profoundly moving debut novel that asks: what do we truly owe our family, and what are we willing to do to savor the feeling of home?
Bugsy & Other Stories
by Rafael FrumkinFrom the author of Confidence and The Comedown comes a wildly imaginative story collection about queerness, neurodivergence, sexuality, and self-discovery. Frumkin&’s latest book is a deliciously entertaining collection of five genre-defying stories that range from downright hilarious to brilliantly unhinged. Taken together, they celebrate a wide variety of human experiences. In the title story, a queer young adult with bipolar disorder drops out of college in a fog of depression, aimlessly drifting between maintaining their job at a fast food restaurant and dodging their mom&’s texts. But when they fall in with a group of sex workers starring in BDSM films, they find radical freedom, love, and community. In other stories, we meet a psychiatrist whose meticulously-maintained life is upended by an Alex Trebek-like voice in his head, an e-girl celebrity who is being courted by a delusional fan, a young boy on the spectrum at odds with a neurotypical world determined to &“cure&” him, and an elderly woman whose consciousness is being transformed by her oncoming death. With incredible insight, compassion, and honesty, Frumkin unravels each story with tantalizing precision. Sexy and raw—and compulsively readable—this collection offers a look at our innermost selves as we all try to make sense of the world and our place in it.
But Everyone Feels This Way: How an Autism Diagnosis Saved My Life
by Paige LayleAutism acceptance activist and TikTok influencer Paige Layle shares her deeply personal journey to diagnosis and living life autistically. &“For far too long, I was told I was just like everyone else. But knew it couldn&’t be true. Living just seemed so much harder for me. This wasn&’t okay. This wasn&’t normal. This wasn&’t functioning. And it certainly wasn&’t fine.&” Paige Layle was normal. She lived in the countryside with her mom, dad, and brother Graham. She went to school, hung out with friends, and all the while everything seemed so much harder than it needed to be. A break in routine threw off the whole day. If her teacher couldn't answer &“why&” in class, she dissolved into tears, unable to articulate her own confusion or explain her lack of control. But Paige was normal. She smiled in photos, picked her feet up when her mom needed to vacuum instead of fleeing the room, and earned high grades. She had friends and loved to perform in local theater productions. It wasn&’t until a psychiatrist said she wasn&’t doing okay, that anyone believed her. In But Everyone Feels This Way, Paige Layle shares her story as an autistic woman diagnosed late. Armed with the phrase &“Autism Spectrum Disorder&” (ASD), Paige challenges stigmas, taboos, and stereotypes while learning how to live her authentic, autistic life.
Cadeaux
by K. MatthewAlex était venu pour un job, mais ce qu'il trouva fut bien plus que cela. Shannon étant partie, c'était à Alex de répondre à tous les besoins de M. Dacey. Tout se passait bien jusqu'à ce que M. Dacey invite Alex à déjeuner, et lui offre un cadeau plutôt offensant. La décision d'Alex de se rebeller lui fit réaliser que déplaire à son patron était l'une des pires choses qu'il puisse faire.
Canto Contigo: A Novel
by Jonny Garza VillaWhen a Mariachi star transfers schools, he expects to be handed his new group's lead vocalist spot—what he gets instead is a tenacious current lead with a very familiar, very kissable face.In a twenty-four-hour span, Rafael Alvarez led North Amistad High School’s Mariachi Alma de la Frontera to their eleventh consecutive first-place win in the Mariachi Extravaganza de Nacional; and met, made out with, and almost hooked up with one of the cutest guys he’s ever met. Now eight months later, Rafie’s ready for one final win. What he didn’t plan for is his family moving to San Antonio before his senior year, forcing him to leave behind his group while dealing with the loss of the most important person in his life—his beloved abuelo. Another hitch in his plan: The Selena Quintanilla-Perez Academy’s Mariachi Todos Colores already has a lead vocalist, Rey Chavez—the boy Rafie made out with—who now stands between him winning and being the great Mariachi Rafie's abuelo always believed him to be. Despite their newfound rivalry for center stage, Rafie can’t squash his feelings for Rey. Now he must decide between the people he’s known his entire life or the one just starting to get to know the real him.Canto Contigo is a love letter to Mexican culture, family and legacy, the people who shape us, and allowing ourselves to forge our own path. At its heart, this is one of the most glorious rivals-to-lovers romance about finding the one who challenges you in the most extraordinary ways.
The Caravaggio Syndrome: A Novel (Other Voices of Italy)
by Alessandro GiardinoLeyla is a headstrong Brooklyn-born art historian at a prestigious upstate New York college. When she meets feckless young computer technician Pablo at a party, she quickly becomes pregnant with his child. There’s only one problem: she can’t stand him. And one more problem: her student Michael wants Pablo for himself. Amid this love triangle, the objects of Leyla and Michael’s study take on a life of their own. Trying to learn more about Caravaggio’s masterpiece The Seven Works of Mercy, they pore over the journal and prison writings of maverick 17th-century utopian philosopher Tommaso Campanella, which, as if by enchantment, transport them back four centuries to Naples. And while the past and present miraculously converge, Leyla, Michael, and Tommaso embark on a voyage of self-discovery in search of a new life. In this fusion of historical, queer, and speculative fiction, Alessandro Giardino combines the intellectual playfulness of Umberto Eco with the psychological finesse of Michael Cunningham.
Care Less, Cowgirl
by D. J. Fronimos Elke LakeySteph Haas cares. For the patients in the nursing home she runs, for her family, but most of all, for her partner Lilou, whom she adores. Life is good when she’s pleasing her woman even if it has Steph playing über butch to Lilou’s demanding femme. For them it works ... until suddenly it doesn’t.Annika mistrusts all women, yet longs for a steady relationship. After unsuccessfully throwing herself at yet another prospect, almost ruining her career in the process, Annika’s boss forces her to take a vacation. Having nowhere to go and no one to go with, Annika is grateful when her gay friend Leo suggests she join him and his partner on the very trip to the US Steph was supposed to take with Lilou.Knowing Annika and she will be the only non-couple on the Gittie-Up Ranch, Steph is determined to make the best of an altogether bad situation. But traveling with Annika isn’t easy, especially when the maddening woman rebuffs Steph’s attempts at being nice. Instead, Annika drools incessantly over the resident lesbian, a butch cowgirl named Jesse.Somehow they still become friends, with Steph valiantly fighting her physical attraction to the gorgeous femme, only to give in when Annika suddenly shifts gears and they land in bed together. So what? It’s just a vacation fling. Nobody cares, right?
Central Avenue Poetry Prize 2024 (Central Avenue Poetry Prize #1)
by Beau AdlerImagine if you could have the best debut poetry from the widest variety of up-and-coming poets in one, single place. A compilation of fresh faces from all walks of life, The Central Avenue Poetry Prize assembles a swathe of standout poetry and delivers it straight to your bookshelf. A collaborative effort between poets from all corners of the world and all walks of life, The Central Avenue Poetry Prize presents a collection of poetry like no other. Rife with heartache, longing, laughter, and life, this book captures the spark of creativity and the vastness that is the human soul within its pages. This collection contains stories that are funny, some that are sad, some that are beautiful—and all that are true. Diverse in content and rich in talent, this is a testament to the art of poetry, and a reminder that the act of writing comes from the act of living, and when we create, we allow ourselves to see and be seen.
Chesapeake Howl
by Rafe JadisonWhen he’s whisked away from Manhattan and summoned to his father’s Long Island estate on a weekday, James Tetherington knows he isn’t there to get good news, but still he’s surprised when his father insists James leave New York and return to Milligan Island, a place James has not been since he was a boy. Not only is James commanded to return, but he’s also told to solve a war between two Wolf packs, one he must lead and the other one he must subdue or destroy. As for the witches on the island, his father says it’s time for them to go.Chase Howard hasn’t been to Milligan Island since his father died a few years earlier, but when his coven has visions of him making peace between the two Wolf factions on the island, he knows it’s time to return. As a strong and powerful witch, Chase has never been scared of Wolves, but on his first night back to the island, when a wounded Wolf gets through a ward that’s held for centuries, Chase is forced to rethink his ideas. Chase soon finds himself nursing the gorgeous Wolf man back to health and protecting him from an island full of Wolves who seem to want him dead. Unfortunately, saving this Wolf may kill every chance Chase has to broker peace on the island.Although James and Chase may not know exactly what they want to happen on Milligan Island, they do know there’s an attraction between them neither man can battle. With angry Wolves and mysterious men in silver coats following them about, can James and Chase find a way to protect the island, or will it all disappear in the wind like a Chesapeake howl?
Chico con Suerte
by Jade SandConocido por salir adelante siempre sin grandes esfuerzos y por su despreocupación por el futuro, el joven Alexandre atraviesa un momento difícil. Desempleado y moroso con sus facturas, ve en la sugerencia de un amigo, un chico de compañía de éxito, la oportunidad de resolver sus problemas inmediatos y mantener su nivel de vida. Pero los servicios esporádicos y las prácticas que acaba de empezar no son suficientes, y necesita dinero urgentemente. Es entonces cuando una oferta inesperada pero irrechazable le pone en manos del misterioso Jefe, un excéntrico hombre de negocios lleno de artimañas. Mediante un acuerdo de exclusividad, inician una relación que trasciende lo comercial, hasta el momento en que los verdaderos sentimientos y situaciones quedan al descubierto. Un mundo donde el sexo y el dinero son vicios, y el placer un remedio fugaz. Romance gay para adultos.
The Children’s Hour (Queer Film Classics #10)
by Julia ErhartBased on a play by Lillian Hellman, The Children’s Hour (1961) was the first mainstream commercial American film to feature a lesbian character in a leading role. It centres on a teacher at a girls’ school (Shirley MacLaine) who is accused of harbouring feelings for her co-worker (Audrey Hepburn) and depicts the intense moral panic that ensues. Produced in the social climate of the Lavender Scare, the film reveals deep insights into the politics of sexuality and censorship in midcentury America, only a few years before more visible struggles for queer liberation.The director, William Wyler, lobbied hard to get the film made after an earlier straight-washed version in 1936. The tense road to production included debates about whether to eliminate mentions of lesbianism from the script and how implicitly queer subject matter might conflict with the Production Code, by then weakened but still in force. Julia Erhart’s reading of the film’s conception, production, and reception advances a nuanced case of censorship as a productive force. While contests between Hellman and Wyler suppressed scenes of overt affection between main characters Karen and Martha, reception was comparatively fixated on the characters’ lesbianism: it threatened middlebrow movie critics in the mainstream press and resonated with queer audiences. Erhart’s attentive interpretation of both the script and the sonic landscape yields a detailed analysis of the soundtrack as an original pro-lesbian element.As issues of queer censorship continue to permeate life and culture more than fifty years later, Erhart demonstrates that The Children’s Hour is as salient to social and political tensions around gender and sexuality today as it was in the 1960s.