The Unpoetic Life of August Grey

You can only hold your breath underwater for three minutes before you go unconscious. For seventeen-year-old August Grey, life in their small Nebraska town has felt like that endless third minute ever since their best friend Waylon died.

When August earns a coveted spot at a prestigious summer writing program in New York, they believes it’s their one chance to heal -- and to keep the promise made to Waylon to pursue their dream. But New York brings its own challenges: a strained reunion with an estranged father, the weight of trying to write without Waylon there, and the unexpected arrival of Levi, August's old crush who knows nothing of their failed coming out.

As August wrestles with grief, secrets, and the tentative spark of new love, they must decide if they can finally surface -- embracing their queer identity and the joy of being themself before the past threatens to drown their future.

In the tradition of The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo, I Wish You All the Best by Mason Deaver, and Me (Moth) by Amber McBride, Pushcart Prize-nominated poet Max Fischer delivers a searing, unforgettable debut about loss, queer joy, and the strength it takes to breathe again.