Let Them Stare

Gr 9 Up–Van Ness’s YA debut with bestselling coauthor Murphy is a big-hearted, genre-defying ode to queer pride and the struggle to find belonging and community in small rural towns. The story follows Sully, a nonbinary recent high school grad eager to start a NYC intern job with a popular influencer only for their plans to be cancelled at the last minute. Stuck in Hearst, PA, where their mom is the mayor, Sully sees life take a paranormal twist when they find a high-fashion bag at the local consignment store where they used to work and discover it might be worth a lot of money and is also haunted by Rufus, a former drag queen ghost with no memory of their past. With help from their friends, a new love interest, and Rufus, Sully spends the summer digging into Hearst’s past and uncovers a beautiful queer love story with a tragic ending.