Forbidden Dawn - A Novel by Raheem247
Ralph grew up in a devout Christian home in Nigeria, where faith dictated every aspect of his life. At just eleven, when he entered boarding school, he began to sense a difference within himself-one that could not be prayed away, no matter how hard he tried.
As he navigates the rigid expectations of family, school, and society, Ralph is confronted with bullying, betrayal, and the terrifying weight of his forbidden desires. His journey is one of secret love, painful rejection, and desperate attempts to conform to a world that refuses to accept him.
But when the walls of oppression threaten to suffocate him, Ralph takes a bold step toward freedom, leaving behind the chains of his past for the unknown streets of New York. There, he finds love, success, and a life he never thought possible. Yet, even as he embraces his truth, the echoes of home call to him, forcing him to choose between the life he has built and the family that once cast him out.
Forbidden Dawn is a deeply emotional and powerful coming-of-age novel that explores identity, faith, love, and resilience. It is the story of a boy who refused to be broken and a man who dared to live on his own term.
*Wattys 2018 Winner / Hidden Gems*
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Weeks before Valentine's, seventeen-year-old Kate Lapuz goes through her first ever breakup, but soon she stumbles upon a mysterious new app called My Dream Boyfriend, an AI chatbot that has the ability to understand human feelings. Casually, she participates in the app's trial run but finds herself immersed in the empathic conversations with her customizable virtual boyfriend, Ecto.
In a society both connected and alienated by technology, Kate suspects an actual secret admirer is behind Ecto. Could it be the work of the techie student council president Dion or has Kate really found her soulmate in bits of computer code? She decides to get to the bottom of the cutting-edge app. Her search for Ecto's real identity leads Kate to prom, where absolute knowledge comes with a very steep price.