The Edge of Being

August 15, 2022
A young person goes on a quest for his other parent. High school senior Isaac "Fig" Griffin is lost. He feels like his best friend, Charlie, and his boyfriend, Christopher, have their desired paths charted out for him, but the White, pansexual teen can't move on until he finds the truth about the other half of his genetic makeup. His single mother had told him that he was the result of an anonymous sperm donor, but a hidden box of memories leads him to San Francisco, an aging hippie's home for transient youth, and the connection between his family and the 1966 Compton's Cafeteria Riots, during which trans women, sex workers, and gay men fought back against police oppression three years before Stonewall. Told in baroque prose and over-the-top dialogue, the story--as evidenced by the lengthy author's note--clearly came out of Brandon's desire to share this undeniably pivotal and important piece of history. Unfortunately, however, these educational goals drive the plot in such a way that at many points the novel comes off as more of a lesson than a natural exploration of Fig's journey. The plot also moves forward via a series of majorly helpful coincidences. Self-injury, sexual assault, and racism are explored through underdeveloped supporting characters. Sentimental and overloaded. (Fiction. 14-18)

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August 15, 2022
In this compassionate novel by Brandon (Ziggy, Stardust & Me), white pansexual 17-year-old Isaac Griffin searches for his sperm donor father, Alex, whom he has never met. Upon discovering decades-old letters in his attic hinting that Alex might be in San Francisco, Isaac and his closeted Black boyfriend, Christopher, embark on a road trip to find him. After Isaac’s vintage station wagon breaks down, they hitch a ride with idiosyncratic white Max, whose “sea-green eyes shimmer like two pieces of emerald,” and as she and Isaac grow closer, his relationship with Christopher becomes strained. When they arrive in the Bay Area, the trio don’t find Alex but, instead, Alex’s old friend, Aunt Luna, who runs a boardinghouse for LGBTQ youth. As Aunt Luna teaches them about queer life in 1960s San Francisco, she recounts Isaac’s father’s participation in the 1966 Compton’s Cafeteria riot, a precursor to the 1969 Stonewall riots. While familiar tropes, such as Max’s manic pixie dream girl persona, occasionally hinder character development, Brandon employs a rapid pace and demonstrates a deft understanding of the time period, making for a heartfelt road-trip romp that presents a strong message about fighting for what one believes in. Ages 12–up.

Starred review from September 15, 2022
Grades 9-12 *Starred Review* Isaac "Fig" Griffin feels as if he is missing part of himself. Although he has an excellent relationship with his mother, he wants to know more about his never-present father. The story he has always believed--that his father was a sperm donor--is shattered with the discovery of letters and other evidence revealing that his biological father, Alex, had a closer relationship to his mother. Unwilling to pursue the topic with his mother, Fig heads to San Francisco in search of anyone who could remember his father. Fig's boyfriend, Christopher, and Max, a young woman they meet along the way, accompany him, along with his beloved dog, Rose Tyler. San Francisco provides a trove of information as well as deep disappointments. On returning home, Fig continues to piece together the puzzle of his father, but it is only when he allows others to help that he steps away from the edge and become whole and fulfilled. This luminous novel is at once heartbreaking and joyful in its exploration of identity, love, friendship, and family. Brandon's writing is full of vivid imagery as broad as the universe and as personal as a kiss. In a time when self-discovery and self-acceptance are threatened--just as in the 1960s of Alex's youth--a bold and sensitive novel such as this one is sorely needed.

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