Lewis Evan is good at one thing: pretending.
To his thousands of TikTok followers, he's a bright voice of encouragement, a teenage creator spreading hope in 15-second bursts. But behind the screen, Lewis is carrying a weight no follower sees. The raw grief of losing his younger brother six months ago, a family that acts like he never existed, and a bipolar diagnosis that makes life unpredictable.
By day, Lewis navigates the halls of his Cape Town high school, dodging questions about his mood, hiding a secret crush on his best friend Ethan, and fending off the persistent advances of an ex-girlfriend who refuses to let go. By night, he writes anonymously on Patreon, pouring out the truth he can't say aloud. Truths that can only survive in the dark.
When a drunken kiss with his other close friend Nico breaks the fragile balance Lewis has built, everything threatens to come crashing down. With his mental health spiraling and secrets unraveling, Lewis must decide what... and who, he's willing to lose to finally stop pretending.
Pretend is a gritty, emotional Young Adult novel about grief, identity, and the courage it takes to be real in a world full of masks.
https://www.wattpad.com/story/398040155
