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Sunset Springs  By  cover art

Sunset Springs

By: Kacen Callender
Narrated by: Qamar Yochanan
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Publisher's summary

No job, no money, no love - and to make things worse, 27-year-old Charlie has no choice but to leave New York City and move in with his mom in his isolated and conservative hometown of Sunset Springs.

Home isn’t a comfortable place for Charlie. One of very few Black residents and the only trans person around town that he knows of, this will be Charlie’s first time back in Sunset Springs since he transitioned. He expects confusion and maybe even hostility. He definitely does not expect Jackson Ford.

Jack was the brooding yet beloved football star at their high school, but now, he’s an outsider after coming out as gay. When Charlie and Jackson fall for each other in a swift and surprising romance, Charlie has to decide if he’s willing to exchange his old dreams for a new one.

Sunset Springs is an audio novella about finding courage to allow unexpected change, even at the risk of a broken heart. 

©2021 Kacen Callender (P)2021 Audible Originals, LLC.

About the Creator

Kacen Callender is a best-selling and award-winning author of multiple novels for children, teens, and adults, including the National Book Award-winning King and the Dragonflies and the best-selling novel Felix Ever After. Callender enjoys playing RPG video games, practicing their art, and focusing on healing and growth in their free time. They currently reside in St. Thomas of the US Virgin Islands, where they were born and raised.
Photo credit: Ashley Cain

About the Director

Shaan Dasani is an LA-based actor, producer, writer, and director. He was recently featured as a trailblazer in the New York Times piece "The Trans Actors Challenging Outmoded Ideas of Masculinity," for his work in the award-winning digital series These Thems and groundbreaking comedy series Razor Tongue, created by Emmy-nominated actress and producer Rain Valdez. As a voice actor, Dasani can be heard as the character Jack in James Sie's coming-of-age YA novel, All Kinds of Other. In 2019, Dasani was selected to participate in the prestigious ABC Discovers South Asian actor workshop. Recognized as a champion of social change, in 2018 the Bonobos brand picked Dasani as a representative for its #EvolveTheDefinition campaign, which sought to jump-start a conversation about broadening ideas of masculinity.
Before launching into the acting world, Dasani received his MFA from Chapman University. He has written, produced and directed over 30 short films, commercials, and music videos, and is a proud member of the Directors Guild of America and SAG-AFTRA.

About the Performer

Commarrah J. Yochanan (they/them) is a Black, trans, nonbinary, Jewish actrix, artist, and improviser with over 20 years of experience. They are an alum of New York University's Tisch School of the Arts, where they received a BFA in Drama in 2011. In 2019, they debuted an improv score "Ance$tor Money" as part of Stonewall @ 50, curated by Andrea Jenkins. They also originated the role of Kleo in a new sci-fi nonbinary musical, Queen Bee. In September 2020, they emceed the 7th Annual Minneapolis Transgender Equity Summit. Commarrah was one of four artists selected for 20% Theatre Company's Q-Stage: New Work Series 2020-2021. They were recently announced as part of the core ensemble of Lightning Rod, a majority BIPOC queer-trans-led theater organism. Commarrah is a former member of the Transgender Equity Council and Minneapolis Arts Commission, and a Marsha P. Johnson Institute Black trans Organizer, Class of 2020. They raised over $30K with a fundraiser for local Black trans and Native trans/Two Spirit artists.

Featured Article: The Best Trans and Nonbinary Listens


As our society becomes more inclusive, some of our most underrepresented communities are getting a much-needed opportunity to tell their stories. For this list, we’ve come up with some of the best trans and nonbinary listens, across all genres and age categories. And because we know that authenticity is important to listeners, our selections are almost exclusively written by queer, trans, and nonbinary authors.

What listeners say about Sunset Springs

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Easy listen, nice story

I enjoyed this book a lot , not long winded , but interesting character development. Love a love story whether it be a man and a woman or man and man etc. Love is love , and it’s an important message.
Good work guys xx

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Dig this audiobook

This story is full of life, loss, lessons…I know a lot of L’s. But seriously Charlie and Jack. Thank you to all involved.

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1 person found this helpful

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    3 out of 5 stars

Charlie’s voice

The narrator did Charlie’s voice was way too high I thought. Made it hard to remember that he had transitioned because it sounded way to demeanor - especially since the text specifically mentioned his voice being deeper after the hormones.

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    4 out of 5 stars

A good look at life

I very much enjoyed the story. The look into a life so vastly different than my own was good. The ending didn’t surprise me or bother me, it made sense. We have this tendency to think that a love story Hass to end with a happily ever after right now. But real life isn’t that easy, I prefer a book that doesn’t give me an unrealistic ending to a realistic story.

I think my only criticism of the story would be that at times Charlie is pushing a lot more on the fact that they are a black, transgender, gay man. And all of the expected bigotry that will come with that. For such a short piece, it is reiterated a lot. That said, I also know that it is very much a reality that they’ve had to deal with, that they shouldn’t have had to deal with.

If my cis gendered, heterosexual, fairly conservative, white father can you reach a place where he openly admits that it’s none of his business who loves who, I do think there’s hope for the world. If he can reach this place at 69 years of age, then it’s no surprise the other people can as well. And its allies like Trish the help along the way.

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Had some cute but was missing something

The voices of the characters was too similar and often I got confused when conversations were happening. The story was a little too short which took away character depth, they were good surface characters but they lacked something and made it hard to connect to what was happening to
them.

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Touching and Hartwarming!!

DELETE please from this point on!!

I was listen to lots of books I'm a loyal customer.

I don't always want to write an extended review!

I feel abused by this necessity!

Would you please allow people to get Beyond this point, without having to write a thesis!!!

Sincerely,

A mostly happy customer.

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Loved everything but the ending

Great story with high emotions. Just wish there was a conclusion instead of an abrupt end.

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Better Than Expected

Overall I thought the book was a pretty good read. The story was interesting and really held my attention. The characters were relatable and I enjoyed the book.

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4 people found this helpful

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Thank you for writing an inclusive story!

I consider myself an Ally. This was a well written/spoken story about an LGBTQ+ relationship. It was heartwarming to listen to this relationship. Glad audible included it in the library. Thank you!

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Refreshing

I really enjoy the book cuz it was sweet and straight to the point about how life really is for a transgender gay

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