cover image Just Between Us

Just Between Us

J.H. Trumble. Kensington, $15 trade paper (320p) ISBN 978-0-7582-7718-3

Trumble explores the bittersweet extremes of young love in this heartwarming, heart-wrenching companion to Don’t Let Me Go and Where You Are. After a wild, unsatisfying first year at the University of Texas exploring his sexuality by sleeping around, Curtis Cameron comes home for a summer as a high school marching camp field tech. Luke Chesser is a clarinet-playing high school junior who’s recovering from the fallout of his first relationship and dealing with the pain of his father’s homophobia. Their burgeoning romance is threatened by a shocking phone call Curtis receives from an old fling—who’s HIV-positive. Terrified to get tested, worried about disappointing his supportive family, and finally finding he has the disease, Curtis hovers on the edge of self-destruction, leaving Luke desperate to salvage their relationship. Trumble has a talent for creating characters who are sympathetic despite their flaws, and fans of the preceding books will devour this one. Agent: Stephen Fraser, Jennifer De Chiara Literary Agency. (Oct.)