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Let Them Stare

A Novel

Audiobook
0 of 3 copies available
Wait time: About 18 weeks
0 of 3 copies available
Wait time: About 18 weeks

An instant New York Times and Indie bestseller!

From Emmy Award winner Jonathan Van Ness of Queer Eye and #1 New York Times bestselling author Julie Murphy comes a bighearted story about friendship, love—and discovering the secrets and beauty of your own hometown.

Sully is ready to get out of Hearst, Pennsylvania. With a fashion internship secured, the gender-nonconforming eighteen-year-old is trading in their stifling small town for the big city. Sully even sells their beloved car, to Bread—er, Brad—the most boring (and maybe only other) gay kid in town.

When Sully's internship goes up in smoke, they're trapped in Hearst with no cash—and no car. Desperate, they go to the thrift store, their personal sanctuary. There, they discover a vintage bag—like ""put this baby in an airtight case at the MET"" vintage. If Sully can authenticate it, the resale value would be enough for a new life in the city.

But when they begin to investigate, Sully finds themself haunted. Literally. With the ghost of Rufus, a drag performer from the fifties with no memory of how he died standing—no, floating—in their bedroom, Sully's summer has a new purpose: 1) help this ghostly honey unlock his past and move on and 2) make bank—after all, the Real Real doesn't take poltergeist purses.

With Rufus in tow, and Brad—who's looking pretty scrumptious these days—playing chauffeur, Sully delves into the history of the town they're so desperate to escape. Only to discover that there might be more to Hearst than they ever knew.

"A quirky, passionate, rebellious, and quick-witted novel."" — Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

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    • Booklist

      May 1, 2025
      Grades 9-12 Mary, sis, hunny--it's just a haunted handbag. It might also be Sully's ticket out of Hearst, Pennsylvania, if they can get the ghost, Rufus, to vacate the bag. Like any upstanding ghost, Rufus has unfinished business; he also has a bad case of ghost amnesia, so Sully needs to dig into their small town's history to help Rufus find peace. Their research also makes them realize that, despite being the only nonbinary person in town, Sully might have a place in Hearst after all. Without overwhelming the narrative with exposition, there is a plentiful amount of queer history discussed, dually serving to educate the reader and to help Sully discover the context that has created a world where they can exist as an out, queer person. Despite a veneer of mystery, the plot is largely driven by Sully's growth rather than action or intrigue, making this a choice more suited to character-driven readers. A surprisingly light read, this is an excellent entry point for readers curious about history and open to the paranormal.

      COPYRIGHT(2025) Booklist, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

    • Kirkus

      Starred review from June 1, 2025
      Van Ness, a hairstylist known for the TV series Queer Eye, teams up with best-selling author Murphy for this story about one teen's very gay summer. Recent high school graduate Sully is ready to leave behind the woes of being a nonbinary fashionista in small-town Hearst, Pennsylvania, and jet off to the Big Apple, where a yearlong internship with an influencer awaits. At their going-away party, they burn some bridges and go out with a bangin' first kiss. But the flaky influencer drops Sully before they even leave town, and they're left with no backup plan. Scoring what might be "one of the rarest vintage handbag finds of all time" might help, at least with acquiring the funds to escape. Sully is shocked when a ghost emerges from the bag--Rufus, a gay man, "female impersonator," and mid-20th-century Hearst resident. While Sully works to pick up the pieces of their own life, they also help Rufus recover his memories, discovering surprising depths to their hometown along the way. This quirky, passionate, rebellious, and quick-witted novel brings aspects of modern queer culture into direct, literal conversation with elements of its past. It's a monument to what came before, a testament to continued struggles, and a celebration of queer joy. The main characters' arcs are well-constructed; Sully's and Rufus' dual journeys of discovery flow well together, informing Sully's emotional growth while keeping Rufus independently well-rounded. Characters read white. Quippy dialogue and a kinetic pace distinguish this uplifting novel.(Fiction. 14-18)

      COPYRIGHT(2025) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

    • School Library Journal

      May 30, 2025

      Gr 9 Up-Van Ness's YA debut with bestselling coauthor Murphy is a big-hearted, genre-defying ode to queer pride and the struggle to find belonging and community in small rural towns. The story follows Sully, a nonbinary recent high school grad eager to start a NYC intern job with a popular influencer only for their plans to be cancelled at the last minute. Stuck in Hearst, PA, where their mom is the mayor, Sully sees life take a paranormal twist when they find a high-fashion bag at the local consignment store where they used to work and discover it might be worth a lot of money and is also haunted by Rufus, a former drag queen ghost with no memory of their past. With help from their friends, a new love interest, and Rufus, Sully spends the summer digging into Hearst's past and uncovers a beautiful queer love story with a tragic ending. VERDICT A hopeful YA coming of age story with messy family relationships, supportive friends, and a heart-breaking historical mystery that is sure to enlighten readers about what it was like to be queer in the 1950s. Perfect for fans of books such as Curtis Campbell's Dragging Mason County.-Shannon O'Connor

      Copyright 2025 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

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