By Any Means Necessary

Torrey, a gay, black college freshman, is not sure where he belongs. He thinks he’s escaping his Los Angeles neighborhood and his “sad excuse for a family” by going to San Francisco State University. As soon as he arrives there, though, troubling news from home pulls him back. The bee farm he inherited from his uncle is about to be seized due to unpaid taxes, and having the apiary fall into the wrong hands could add to the gentrification problems already threatening local residents’ livelihoods. Torrey knows he should return to L.A. to work to save his property and neighborhood, but he wants to stay in school, especially after he reunites with a former love interest via Instagram. Through Torrey’s struggles and vibrant, first-person voice, Montgomery (Home and Away) sheds light on larger social issues. At times directly addressing the reader, Torrey’s narration clearly delineates concerns within nonwhite communities. Rather than providing pat answers to complicated problems, this contemporary coming-of-age novel raises essential questions to ponder. Ages 14–up. [em]Agent: Jim McCarthy, Dystel, Goderich and Bourret. (Oct.) [/em]