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From Abdi Nazemian, the award-winning author of Like a Love Story and Only This Beautiful Moment, comes a suspenseful contemporary YA novel about loss and love.

Fifteen-year-old Kam is head over heels for Ash, the boy who swept him off his feet. But his family and best friend, Bodie, are worried. Something seems off about Ash. He also has a habit of disappearing, at times for days. When Ash asks Kam to join him on a trip to Joshua Tree, the two of them walk off into the sunset . . . but only Kam returns.

Two years later, Kam is still left with a hole in his heart and too many unanswered questions. So it feels like fate when a school trip takes him back to Joshua Tree. On the trip, Kam wants to find closure about what happened to Ash but instead finds himself in danger of facing a similar fate. In the desert, Kam must reckon with the truth of his past relationship—and the possibility of opening himself up to love once again.

Desert Echoes is a propulsive, moving story about human resilience and connection.

He went to the desert for closure, but what happens when the truth is more dangerous than not knowing?

  • A Heart-Pounding Mystery: Kam was the last person to see Ash alive before he vanished in Joshua Tree. Two years later, a school trip back to the same desert puts Kam in danger of facing the same fate.
  • Grief and First Love: A moving exploration of loving someone who is gone, reckoning with the truth of a complicated relationship, and finding the courage to open your heart again.
  • Secrets and Lies: Something was always off about Ash, but Kam was too in love to see it. Now, he must confront the secrets Ash kept—and the ones in his own family.
  • An Atmospheric Desert Setting: The stark, beautiful, and treacherous landscape of Joshua Tree becomes a character in itself, holding the key to Kam’s past and his future.
ISBN: 9780063339637
Imprint: HarperCollins
On Sale: Sep 10, 2024
List price: $24.99
No of pages: 320
Trim Size: 5.850 in (w) x 8.550 in (h) x 1.150 in (d)
BISAC 1: YOUNG ADULT FICTION / Social Themes / Drugs, Alcohol, Substance Abuse *
BISAC 2: YOUNG ADULT FICTION / Social Themes / Emotions & Feelings *
BISAC 3: YOUNG ADULT FICTION / Social Themes / Death, Grief, Bereavement

Abdi Nazemian

Biography

Abdi Nazemian is the author of Only This Beautiful Moment—winner of the 2024 Stonewall Award and 2024 Lambda Literary Award—and Like a Love Story, a Stonewall Honor Book and one of Time magazine’s 100 Best YA Books of All Time. He is also the author of the young adult novels Desert Echoes, The Chandler Legacies, and The Authentics. His novel The Walk-In Closet won the Lambda Literary Award for LGBT Debut Fiction. His screenwriting credits include the films The Artist’s Wife, The Quiet, and Menendez: Blood Brothers and the television series Ordinary Joe and The Village. He has been an executive producer and associate producer on numerous films, including Call Me by Your Name, Little Woods, and The House of Tomorrow. He lives in Los Angeles with his husband, their two children, and their dog, Disco. Find him online at abdinazemian.com.

Arya Shahi

Biography

Arya Shahi is an Iranian-American playwright, poet, and rapper. He is the co-founder of PigPen Theatre Co., an award-winning theatre company and band. With PigPen, Arya has written, directed, and performed in original plays (including The Old Man and the Old Moon) as well as books adapted for stage (including Kate DiCamillo’s The Tale of Despereaux). PigPen’s album Bremen was released in 2012, followed by Whole Sun in 2015. Arya lives in Brooklyn. www.aryashahi.com

From Abdi Nazemian, the award-winning author of Like a Love Story and Only This Beautiful Moment, comes a suspenseful contemporary YA novel about loss and love.

Fifteen-year-old Kam is head over heels for Ash, the boy who swept him off his feet. But his family and best friend, Bodie, are worried. Something seems off about Ash. He also has a habit of disappearing, at times for days. When Ash asks Kam to join him on a trip to Joshua Tree, the two of them walk off into the sunset . . . but only Kam returns.

Two years later, Kam is still left with a hole in his heart and too many unanswered questions. So it feels like fate when a school trip takes him back to Joshua Tree. On the trip, Kam wants to find closure about what happened to Ash but instead finds himself in danger of facing a similar fate. In the desert, Kam must reckon with the truth of his past relationship—and the possibility of opening himself up to love once again.

Desert Echoes is a propulsive, moving story about human resilience and connection.

He went to the desert for closure, but what happens when the truth is more dangerous than not knowing?

  • A Heart-Pounding Mystery: Kam was the last person to see Ash alive before he vanished in Joshua Tree. Two years later, a school trip back to the same desert puts Kam in danger of facing the same fate.
  • Grief and First Love: A moving exploration of loving someone who is gone, reckoning with the truth of a complicated relationship, and finding the courage to open your heart again.
  • Secrets and Lies: Something was always off about Ash, but Kam was too in love to see it. Now, he must confront the secrets Ash kept—and the ones in his own family.
  • An Atmospheric Desert Setting: The stark, beautiful, and treacherous landscape of Joshua Tree becomes a character in itself, holding the key to Kam’s past and his future.

ISBN: 9780063339637
Imprint: HarperCollins
On Sale: Sep 10, 2024
List price: $24.99
No of pages: 320
Trim Size: 5.850 in (w) x 8.550 in (h) x 1.150 in (d)
BISAC 1: YOUNG ADULT FICTION / Social Themes / Drugs, Alcohol, Substance Abuse *
BISAC 2: YOUNG ADULT FICTION / Social Themes / Emotions & Feelings *
BISAC 3: YOUNG ADULT FICTION / Social Themes / Death, Grief, Bereavement

Abdi Nazemian

Biography

Abdi Nazemian is the author of Only This Beautiful Moment—winner of the 2024 Stonewall Award and 2024 Lambda Literary Award—and Like a Love Story, a Stonewall Honor Book and one of Time magazine’s 100 Best YA Books of All Time. He is also the author of the young adult novels Desert Echoes, The Chandler Legacies, and The Authentics. His novel The Walk-In Closet won the Lambda Literary Award for LGBT Debut Fiction. His screenwriting credits include the films The Artist’s Wife, The Quiet, and Menendez: Blood Brothers and the television series Ordinary Joe and The Village. He has been an executive producer and associate producer on numerous films, including Call Me by Your Name, Little Woods, and The House of Tomorrow. He lives in Los Angeles with his husband, their two children, and their dog, Disco. Find him online at abdinazemian.com.

Arya Shahi

Biography

Arya Shahi is an Iranian-American playwright, poet, and rapper. He is the co-founder of PigPen Theatre Co., an award-winning theatre company and band. With PigPen, Arya has written, directed, and performed in original plays (including The Old Man and the Old Moon) as well as books adapted for stage (including Kate DiCamillo’s The Tale of Despereaux). PigPen’s album Bremen was released in 2012, followed by Whole Sun in 2015. Arya lives in Brooklyn. www.aryashahi.com