Heatstroke & Denim [BXB]

It's the summer of 1977 in a sun-bleached California town-where the pavement sticks, the mixtapes never rewind cleanly, and love feels like a song you can't stop playing, even when it hurts.

Dennis Fields is sixteen, awkward, and hopelessly obsessed with Jose Ross-the older boy who smokes behind the video store and doesn't even know Dennis exists. But Dennis is determined. With a wingman best friend, a half-baked plan, and more embarrassing moments than he can count, Dennis sets out to make Jose notice him-no matter how many vending machine disasters or drive-in fumbles it takes.

A few blocks away, Brandon Evans has it all: charm, abs, and a mean streak. He's the boy everyone wants and no one really knows. Especially Isaac Reyes, the school paper's denim-clad writer who's too smart to fall for a closeted jock with a chip on his shoulder-and yet, he does. Because Brandon isn't just broken, he's breaking. And Isaac can't look away.

Told in alternating chapters, this is a slowburn, sun-drenched, dual coming-of-age romance about two different kinds of longing-the kind that's sweet, silly, and maybe even requited... and the kind that's dangerous, doomed from the start, and utterly unforgettable.

Two boys. Two summers. One unforgettable season of wanting what you're not supposed to want-and reaching for it anyway.

‣ Perfect for fans of The Outsiders, My Own Private Idaho, and Heartstopper-if it were set in the back row of a 1970s drive-in.