When You Call My Name

Ages 14 to 18

In the spirit of the author's massively popular Twitter thread, When You Call My Name is a novel following two gay teens coming of age in New York City in 1990 at the height of the HIV/AIDS epidemic, perfect for fans of Adam Silvera and Mary H. K. Choi.

Adam is seventeen and being asked out on his first date—and the boy is cute. Heart racing, Adam accepts, quickly falling in love with Callum like the movies always promised.

Ben is eighteen and his mother has just kicked him out after discovering his stash of gay magazines. But in New York City, Ben’s sexuality begins to feel less like a secret and more like a badge of honor.

Then Callum disappears, leaving Adam heartbroken, and Ben realizes his new world is more close-minded than he thought. When Adam finds Callum, he learns the boy he loves will die. And in a chance meeting on the Christopher Street piers, Ben and Adam fall into each other's orbit, opening their eyes and hearts to the possibilities of gay love and life.

About the Author

Tucker Shaw is a writer and editor who grew up in Colorado in the 1970s and 80s, but really came to life in 1991, when he moved into a railroad apartment next door to The World nightclub on Avenue C in New York City. Since then, he's worked in magazines (Out, Quake, Cook's Country), advertising, and newspapers, focusing mostly on food and cooking in recent decades. When You Call My Name isn't his first book, but to him, it feels like it is—in the best way. He lives in Boston. You can follow him on Twitter, @tucker_shaw.