The Beautiful You

Seventeen-year-old Apollo Reyes-Perez is struggling to understand two things: his identity and his best friend's suicide. But when Amory Hartmann, the new boy in town, catches his attention, he discovers that the answers to those questions may be more complicated than he had anticipated.

......

After the passing of his best friend, Apollo is left in an unfamiliar world, or perhaps one he never understood. Swimming, friends, and family. That was Apollo's universe. Until one day it wasn't. His friends expect too much, his parents don't talk enough, and swimming feels wrong. It only took one day for his life to change.

Isn't the world supposed to stop when the person closest to you is gone? That's what he believed. But when the realities of growing up as a Mexican-American teenager hurdle towards him, he must accept the simple fact that life goes on. This becomes abundantly clear when Amory Hartmann enters his life, forcing Apollo to face the parts of himself he intended to keep hidden. Pieces of himself he's been too afraid to share with a boy.

Will Apollo learn to leave the past behind him and move towards the future, or will his demons keep dragging him back to the darkest point of his life?

Featured by @TeenFiction

🥇1st place LGBTQ+: The Novelists Awards 2022-2023

🥉3rd place Romance: The Pride Awards 2023

💜 @YARomance Undiscovered Book of The Month {November 2022}