Tammy and Sharon are assigned to be pen pals over the summer and have no idea how much they have in common, but when Tammy is forced to come out of the closet, she shows up on Sharon's doorstep.
Navigating the realities of being gay and closeted in politically torn 1978 California, Tammy forges a close friendship with pen pal Sharon before homophobic fervor sweeping through the nation challenges them to define themselves and what they stand for. Simultaneous.
Its summer 1977 and closeted lesbian Tammy Larson cant be herself anywhere. Not at her strict Christian high school, not at her conservative Orange County church and certainly not at home, where her ultrareligious aunt relentlessly organizes antigay political campaigns. Tammys only outlet is writing secret letters in her diary to gay civil rights activist Harvey Milk
until shes matched with a real-life pen pal who changes everything.
Sharon Hawkins bonds with Tammy over punk music and carefully shared secrets, and soon their letters become the one place she can be honest. The rest of her life in San Francisco is full of lies. The kind she tells for otherslike helping her gay brother hide the truth from their momand the kind she tells herself. But as antigay fervor in America reaches a frightening new pitch, Sharon and Tammy must rely on their long-distance friendship to discover their deeply personal truths, what theyll stand for
and who theyll rise against.
A master of award-winning queer historical fiction, New York Times bestselling author Robin Talley once again brings to life with heart and vivid detail an emotionally captivating story about the lives of two teen girls living in an age when just being yourself was an incredible act of bravery.
