THE GOLDEN BOY'S GUIDE TO BIPOLAR

In this stand-alone companion to The Lesbiana’s Guide to Catholic School (2022), Cesar Flores heads into the new year with confidence and high hopes—but things don’t go as smoothly as expected.

Cesar has great friends and a lovingly overbearing sister, Yami. There’s also Jamal, his “ex-boyfriend/current best friend.” Kissing Jamal had crossed his mind, but when things go wrong with the New Year’s Eve fireworks they bought, and they end up in each other’s arms again, they’re forced to address the elephant in the room: the fact that they still love each other. But it’s complicated—last year, Cesar, who’s bisexual, confessed their relationship to a priest at school, accepted that being with Jamal was a sin, and broke up with him as his penance. He doesn’t want to go to hell. Although he has many sources of support, his religious struggles bubble up as intrusive thoughts. Still, he’s going to therapy and taking his meds, so he’s fine...until he stops taking his meds and isn’t so fine anymore. Cesar’s father, who was deported to Mexico, reaches out after a long silence to say that he believes that a “brainwashed” Cesar has chosen “this lifestyle over family, and over God.” This harsh judgment affects all aspects of Cesar’s life, including his relationship with Jamal and his own inner narrative. In this immersive tale that looks unflinchingly at difficult truths, readers struggle alongside Cesar on his heart-wrenching journey to self-acceptance and self-love.

Deeply cathartic.