Her Name in the Sky

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Hey,” Chaeyoung breathes when she sees them. “Hey, Soobin?—Wonyoung?—Would y’all mind moving down a little bit?” Every time Lisa gets into her car, she sees Chaeyoung in the passenger seat next to her, wearing her sister’s faded old LSU baseball cap, laughing around the straw of her Sonic milkshake. I’m sorry,’ Hannah says. ‘I’m sorry for putting you through this—I’m sorry for not telling you—I’m sorry for being the way that I am—’ On Saturday mornings Lisa and Chaeyoung take Chaeyoung’s handsome Terrier mixed dog, Hank, to the dog park on Dalrymple Drive. They sit on the circular bench that wraps around the tree in the center of the park and watch Hank gambol around the park with the other dogs. I just feel like I should be more excited to be here. Aren’t parties supposed to be, like, a teenager’s dream?”

They say goodbye to the boys and to Jisoo—“Don’t come home too late,” Lisa tells her, “I don’t want another joint lecture from Mom”—and then they make their way through the house, their classmates parting for them like the two halves of the Red Sea, everyone begging them to stay, to have one more drink, to listen to one more song. say something to test it?” a clear voice says through the speakers, and they all swing their eyes to Baker, who stands at the half court line holding a cordless microphone in her hand. “Oh,” she says, half-laughing at herself, her earnest expression visible even from the bleachers. “I guess it’s working now—” Chaeyoung’s eyes become hesitant, but then she says, in her brave voice, “Yeah—isn’t that what we are now?” They walk in silence up the stairs to Lisa’s bedroom, their hands clasped between them, a growing excitement, a restless energy, palpable on the air between their bodies. Chaeyoung guides Lisa to sit on the bed and closes the door behind them, her chest heaving with breaths. Then she crosses to the far side of the room and opens the windows. Bye, Hot Little Mary!” “We love you, Hot Little Mary!” “Get it, Hot Little Mary!” The students around the gym shout, and Mrs Kwog frowns at the bleachers, her mouth pulled tight in disapproval.Her Name in the Sky is one of the best novels I’ve read that covers the day-by-day thoughts and experiences of a teenage girl dealing with learning her sexuality. Hannah is a highly relatable character, with her doubt, her pleas to God to “make it go away”, and suffering both happiness and guilt from her love for Baker. Her story reflects that of millions of other lesbians who first react negatively upon realizing their sexuality and the terror of their entire lives being uprooted by the knowledge. As my first reaction to my own sexuality was shame and horror, many of the things she thought or said resonated with me. As a result, the novel reached much deeper than any of the others I’ve read. Still, I believe anyone can get immersed in this book whether they had similar experiences or not. Quindlen is honest and to-the-point in her story.

My path from self-publishing to traditional publishing. I self-published my first novel, Her Name in the Sky, in 2014. It has sold over 30,000 copies in countries around the world and has been featured on BuzzFeed, Bustle, and AfterEllen. In 2020, my traditional debut, Late to the Party, was published by Roaring Brook Press/Macmillan. You can hear more about my transition from self-publishing to traditional publishing here and here. thanks, Mr Park,” Chaeyoung says, with no trace of irony in her voice. “Okay—so should we have this pep rally?”Felix ends up cutting seconds for everyone—“We need a fair judge,” he says, elbowing Jungkook out of the way—and they all eat eagerly, watching each other’s plates to see who unearths the plastic pink Christ child hidden within the cake.

We have to head out, actually, Hannah says, gesturing at Baker, Wally, Joanie, and Luke. We have some stuff to take care of.

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Amen, Hannah mutters, tossing the word into the great rush of Amen that sweeps across the gym. She raises her hand to her forehead to make the same Sign of the Cross that everyone else is making, the words and actions ingrained in her brain, her movements mirroring those of every other person in the gym. It was only for you, Luke says. But considering you were on the other side of the gym, what was I supposed to do?" Her Name in the Sky is a young adult novel about two best friends who can’t help falling in love during their senior year at a Catholic school in southern Louisiana. As they try to figure out their relationship, they grapple with the religious and cultural constraints of their community and, more severely, with internalized homophobia. The story has a happy ending. Anyway, I just have this feeling about tonight,” Jungkook says. “I can’t explain it, but I know we’re going to win. You know?”

Don’t make me blush, Lis,” Jungkook says, clapping a hand to her shoulder. “Where’s everyone else?” Front and center,” Chaeyoung says, drawing her fingertips across the cover. She shifts her footing to face Lisa. “Thank you.” They hold each other’s eyes for a second, and then Lisa swings her smile from Chaeyoung to the others. “I’m down,” she says. And then we went over to Urban Outfitters and Felix and I got her that book about hamsters dressed as Renaissance painters?” Lisa says.I know you lost your copy,” Lisa says, stepping nearer to her. “And I thought you might want a hardcover edition.”