Like a Love Story

By: Abdi Nazemian

Narrated by: Lauren Ambrose, Vikas Adam, Michael Crouch

Length: 10 hrs and 50 mins

Publisher's summary

A 2020 Audie Awards finalist - young adult

“A love letter to queerness, self-expression, and individuality (also Madonna) that never shies away from the ever-present fear within the queer community of late '80s New York, Like a Love Story made me feel so full - of hope, love, courage, pride, and awe for the many people who fought for love and self-expression in the face of discrimination, cruelty, and death.

"A book for warriors, divas, artists, queens, individuals, activists, trend setters, and anyone searching for the courage to be themselves.” (Mackenzi Lee, New York Times best-selling author of The Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue)

It’s 1989 in New York City, and for three teens, the world is changing. 

Reza is an Iranian boy who has just moved to the city with his mother to live with his stepfather and stepbrother. He’s terrified that someone will guess the truth he can barely acknowledge about himself. Reza knows he’s gay, but all he knows of gay life are the media’s images of men dying of AIDS. 

Judy is an aspiring fashion designer who worships her uncle Stephen, a gay man with AIDS who devotes his time to activism as a member of ACT UP. Judy has never imagined finding romance...until she falls for Reza and they start dating. 

Art is Judy’s best friend, their school’s only out and proud teen. He’ll never be who his conservative parents want him to be, so he rebels by documenting the AIDS crisis through his photographs. 

As Reza and Art grow closer, Reza struggles to find a way out of his deception that won’t break Judy’s heart - and destroy the most meaningful friendship he’s ever known. 

This is a bighearted, sprawling epic about friendship and love and the revolutionary act of living life to the fullest in the face of impossible odds.

©2019 Abdi Nazemian (P)2019 HarperCollins Publishers

A must read for all

This book is set in 1989/1990 and is a snapshot of NYC life for a few teenagers and a whole lot of Queer folx fighting for their lives during the AIDS epidemic. It was so well done & I cried and I laughed and I reminisced. Such an important look at culture, family, and finding your true self.

Love the narration by Micheal crouch.

I was not a big fan of the this book. I don’t completely hate the book either. It had potential to be something amazing and explore topics on deeper levels but it fell short for me. The narration by Micheal crouch kept me going. I found the characters frustrating minus Art and uncle Steven. Art and uncle Steven were the only characters I liked. I found Rena to be a very annoying character, along with Judy and I wished that there were more scenes with uncle Steven.

Excellent!

The writing, the performance, the story are all phenomenal. This is an amazing work! Nazemian writes from multiple points of view with compassion and deep understanding. I was only in grade school during this time and while I understand the references now, hearing them in a different context has been wonderful.

A beautiful and compelling story to read

This book was amazing. Initially it was a little slow pace however once the story developed itself it was well told. Historically beautiful.

Great book

It was a touching and heart warming story. I cried and cried. I highly recommend it.

A beautiful history about love!

A beautiful history about love! Not only about teens’s insecurities! A great surprise this book!

So beautiful

This book took me back to my youth and brought it to life again. It is beautifully told, and I am deeply grateful I found it.

Love

Loved the relationship between friends family in the presence of aids .. the power of forgiveness purpose and above all else love

Beautiful story!

Absolutely beautiful story of love, friendship and acceptance of who we truly are in the world.

Beautiful. Insightful. Full of Emotions & Rawness

Wow! I am in awe of how completely perfect this story is. Nazemian has truly perfected what it means to tell a coming of age story during a time when there was so much fear to be in love. This story is the story of our history, and is so crucial in helping others empathize and understand how the AIDS epidemic during the 80s specifically, ravished an entire community. While the fear of death from the disease is a theme, the overarching theme of love naturally overthrows the fear in the novel, and it's such a powerful reminder that love in its various forms-- family, friendship, romantic-- can overcome all things and hold people together when things are dark. I laughed, I cried, I felt empathy for the characters. All of the emotions and I loved every minute of it! "Love is our Legacy."- Art.