Finding H.F.

by Julia Watts

Overview

Abandoned by her mother and raised by her loving but religiously zealous grandmother, 16-year-old Heavenly Faith Simms (H.F. for short) has never felt like she belonged anywhere. When she finds her mother's address in a drawer, she and her best friend, Bo, an emotionally repressed gay boy, hit the road in Bo's scrap heap of a car and head south. Their journey through the heart of the American South awakens both teens to the realization that there is a life waiting for them that is very different from what they have known and that the concept of family is more far-reaching than they had ever imagined.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781594932854
Publisher:	Bella Books
Publication date:	08/23/2011
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	176
Sales rank:	1,110,051
Product dimensions:	5.30(w) x 8.20(h) x 0.40(d)
Age Range:	13 - 17 Years

About the Author

A native of southeastern Kentucky, Julia Watts is the author of the Lambda Literary Award-winning Finding H.F. and many other works including lesbian romance, lesbian erotica and young teen paranormal. Watts is a two-time recipient of grants from the Kentucky Foundation for Women and recently completed an M.F.A. in Writing from Spalding University. She lives, writes and teaches in Knoxville, Tennessee.

Editorial Reviews

The very talented Julia Watts has written a compelling story full of characters who are so real, you expect them to walk right out of the book into your living room. Beautifully written, Finding H.F. should be required reading for all teenagers—and anyone who has ever been a teenager.

Leslea Newman

Gr 7 Up-Abandoned by her teenaged mother and raised in Kentucky by her religious grandmother, 16-year-old Heavenly Faith (H.F. to all but Memaw) knows she is different. She has a crush on Wendy, a local college professor's daughter, and the only person she can tell is her best friend Bo, a "girlish boy" who is beaten regularly by the local jocks. When H.F. finally musters the courage to speak to Wendy, they quickly become friends, and soon the relationship intensifies with disastrous results. Still hurting from this first love experience, H.F. discovers that Memaw has been secretly communicating with her long-lost daughter. Feeling doubly betrayed, H.F. and Bo head out to track her down in Florida. Along the way they share some big-city experiences, including an overnight encounter with some homeless gay teens who have their own concept of family. When H.F. finally finds her mother, she quickly realizes that "Momma" still has no interest in having a daughter. Curiosity satisfied, the two friends head home only to discover that H.F.'s mother or boyfriend has stolen their money. The story wraps up too neatly when H.F. calls Wendy to wire them some money, Wendy asks for another chance, they return home, and life goes on with college in their future. It's a quick and mostly satisfying read, but for a better story about gay teens in a rural setting, try M. E. Kerr's Deliver Us from Evie (HarperCollins, 1995).-Betty S. Evans, Southwest Missouri State University, Springfield Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.

School Library Journal