We Are Lost and Found

by Helene Dunbar

Overview

From "the queen of heartbreaking prose" (Paste) Helene Dunbar, We Are Lost and Found is a young adult realistic fiction novel in the vein of The Perks of Being a Wallflower about three friends coming-of-age against the backdrop of the AIDS crisis in the early 1980s.

Michael is content to live in the shadow of his best friends, James and Becky. Plus, his brother, Connor, has already been kicked out of the house for being gay and laying low seems to be Michael's only chance at avoiding the same fate.

To pass the time before graduation, Michael hangs out at The Echo where he can dance and forget about his father's angry words, the pressures of school, and the looming threat of AIDS, a disease that everyone is talking about, but no one understands.

Then he meets Gabriel, a boy who actually sees him. A boy who, unlike seemingly everyone else in New York City, is interested in him and not James. And Michael has to decide what he's willing to risk to be himself.

This book is perfect for:

• Readers who want stories centering gay boys coming of age
• Parents and educators looking for realistic historical fiction for teens
• Fans of Becky Albertalli, Adam Silvera, and Stephen Chbosky

Praise for We Are Lost and Found:

"Dunbar painstakingly populates the narrative with 1980s references—particularly to music—creating a vivid historical setting... A painful but ultimately empowering queer history lesson."—Kirkus Reviews

"It's a certain type of magic that Helene Dunbar managed with this story... A hauntingly beautiful, yet scarring story that captures the struggles of figuring out who you are while facing the uncertainties of the world, a story that should be mandatory reading for all."—The Nerd Daily

"We Are Lost and Found absolutely sparkles... she so perfectly, so evocatively captures the angst, uncertainty, and shaky self-confidence of adolescence that it might make you wince."—Echo Magazine

Optioned for a major motion picture adaptation by Nikolaj Coster-Waldau's production company, Ill Kippers!

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781728206998
Publisher:	Sourcebooks
Publication date:	07/07/2020
Pages:	304
Sales rank:	630,232
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.20(h) x 1.00(d)
Lexile:	HL770L (what's this?)
Age Range:	14 - 18 Years

About the Author

Helene Dunbar is the author of several novels for young adults including These Gentle Wounds, What Remains, Boomerang, We Are Lost and Found, and Prelude for Lost Souls. Over the years, she’s worked as a drama critic, journalist, and marketing manager, and has written on topics as diverse as Irish music, court cases, and theater. She lives in Nashville with her husband and daughter. Visit her online at helenedunbar.com

Editorial Reviews

"Dunbar painstakingly populates the narrative with 1980s references—particularly to music—creating a vivid historical setting... A painful but ultimately empowering queer history lesson." — Kirkus Reviews

"Michael’s journey of growth and self-acceptance, with all its drama, confusion, and raw emotion, is one that many teens will be able to identify with...regardless of sexuality or gender" — Booklist

"Dunbar paints a broad and accurate portrait of the pain of the times through a series of emotional snapshots." — Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books

"It’s a certain type of magic that Helene Dunbar managed with this story... A hauntingly beautiful, yet scarring story that captures the struggles of figuring out who you are while facing the uncertainties of the world, a story that should be mandatory reading for all." — The Nerd Daily

"A suggested purchase for libraries housing a special collection of LGBTQ+ works." — School Library Journal

"This YA novel provides an interesting way for youth of all backgrounds to explore a dark history that is rarely discussed." — Washington Blade

"We Are Lost and Found absolutely sparkles... she so perfectly, so evocatively captures the angst, uncertainty, and shaky self-confidence of adolescence that it might make you wince." — Echo Magazine

"In haunting and lyrical prose Dunbar beautifully and accurately captures a generation." — Tom Wilinsky, co-author of Snowsisters

"With staggeringly gorgeous, experimental prose, Dunbar delivers a critical story about love, heartbreak, the manifestation of fear, and hope." — Mia Siegert, author of Jerkbait

From the Publisher

07/01/2019

Gr 9 Up—The year is 1983. When Connor came out publicly at his graduation, his father kicked him out. Now his younger brother, Michael, is trying not to make waves as he counts down the days until he graduates from high school. The AIDS epidemic is on the rise, and the gay community of New York is reeling with fear. Michael finds himself falling in love with Gabriel, whom he meets at a club, but he isn't sure if he's ready to commit to a relationship or come out. The setting of this book is historical enough that today's teen readers will not have lived through that time but recent enough that they will not likely study it in school. The slow pace of the plot places the focus on the characters. However, characters are mostly flat and underdeveloped by the conclusion, and Michael remains a nearly invisible character in his own story. While it is true that there is a dearth of young adult novels about the AIDS crisis, readers may wish to wait for a more compelling story before filling that gap. This book may resonate more strongly with adult readers of YA fiction who were alive in the early 1980s. VERDICT A suggested purchase for libraries housing a special collection of LGBTQ+ works. For most libraries, give readers Robin Talley's LGBTQ+ historical fiction or Adam Silvera's novels.—Jenni Frencham, Indiana University, Bloomington

School Library Journal

2019-06-18
Teens in 1980s New York City navigate adolescence in the wake of the AIDS crisis.

When Michael's older brother, Connor, came out to their Catholic parents, their father kicked Connor out. At 16, Michael keeps his sexuality secret in fear of the same fate. Michael could move out and go drinking and dancing every night with his friends at The Echo and "forget, forget, forget." But, in the shadow of the "gay plague," he asks: "How do I live my life without becoming a statistic?" As people around Michael get sick, he struggles to balance his desire for liberation and the consequences that may come with it. Dunbar (Boomerang, 2018, etc.) painstakingly populates the narrative with 1980s references—particularly to music—creating a vivid historical setting. However, occasional contemporary phrases like "All the things" do slip in. With characters that veer toward archetypes, the text seems more history- than character-driven. Nonetheless, the racially and religiously diverse cast, emphasis on safe sex practices, and careful maneuvering around queer plot tropes offer a compelling, teen-movie-esque portrait of the times. Dunbar's lack of quotation marks in dialogue augments Michael's strong first-person voice, matching the sense of immediacy brought by the author's vignette style. The afterword with reflections from three activists provides real-life historical context. Michael and his family are coded as white.

A painful but ultimately empowering queer history lesson. (afterword) (Historical fiction. 13-18)

Kirkus Reviews