Sweet Clarity

A queer teen must decide how far she’s willing to go to live her truth in this tender sapphic romance from Richardson (The Meet-Cute Project). When 18-year-old Clarity arrives at Christian Camp Refuge as a counselor, she’s expecting a quiet summer minding the younger campers. During her first night there, she encounters classmate and fellow counselor Hannah. Though they rarely interact at school, Clarity suddenly senses a spark between them that makes her feel “more tethered to my own life than I’d felt in a long time.” The girls keep their developing romantic relationship secret from their peers, but when they’re found out, Clarity struggles to deal with the resulting alienation from her coworkers. Resolving to avoid a similar fallout at home, Clarity breaks up with Hannah and hides her revelation about her sexual identity from her family. But after Clarity and Hannah are made copresidents of their school’s festival committee, Clarity must confront their past relationship. “Then” and “Now” chapters deftly alternate between vulnerable moments throughout the teens’ romance and their strained present-day dynamic. The love interests’ joyful interactions—instigated primarily by patient and gentle Hannah—buoy Clarity’s charged attempts at grappling with her shifting identity and perception of her religious faith. Clarity is Black; Hannah cues as white. Ages 12–up. Agent: John Cusick, Folio Jr. (Apr.)