Andrew Eliopulos

A magic-infused YA novel about friendship, first love, and feeling out of place that will bewitch fans of Rainbow Rowell and Maggie Stiefvater. Living in a small town where magic is frowned upon, Sam needs his friends James and Delia—and their time together in their school's magic club—to see him through to graduation. But as soon as senior year starts, little cracks in their group begin to show. Sam may or may not be in love with James. Delia is growing more frustrated with their amateur magic club. And James reveals that he got mixed up with some sketchy magickers over the summer, putting a target on all their backs. With so many fault lines threatening to derail his hopes for the year, Sam is forced to face the fact that the very love of magic that brought his group together is now tearing them apart—and there are some problems that no amount of magic can fix.

"An honest, sophisticated look at the myriad emotions surrounding chronic illness and growing up 'not straight' in a religious Georgia town." — Publishers Weekly (starred review) "Relatable, real, and utterly engrossing." — School Library Journal (starred review) *** After dedicated soccer player Will is sidelined from the season—and his friend group—due to complications from his newly diagnosed Crohn’s disease, he finds himself figuring out who he really is on the inside in this heartfelt and thoughtful middle grade novel that's perfect for readers who love books by Maulik Pancholy and Christine Day.  Will loves playing center midfield on his middle school soccer team. This year, though, Will hasn't felt like himself; his stomach has been bothering him, and he has no energy at all. When his new doctor diagnoses him with Crohn's disease, Will hopes that means he’ll start feeling better soon and he can get back to playing with his team before the season ends. But Will's new medicines come with all kinds of side effects, Forced to sit out afternoon practice, Will finds himself hanging out with a kid at school, Griffin. This could be a real problem, seeing as Griffin just asked Will’s best friend to the spring dance. As in, guy friend. What would Will’s teammates say if they knew the whole story? Not to mention Will’s friends at church. With all these changes happening faster than he can process them, Will knows that he has a lot to figure out about who he really is on the inside.   Andrew Eliopulos's novel is a memorable, affecting story that will have wide appeal. It was selected as a Junior Library Guild title and named one of "6 LGBTQ+ Kids' Books We Need More Than Ever" by Kirkus Reviews .