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Out of the closet and into a relationship.

Closeted wallflower Will knows he's gay, but no one else does until he's outed by a Facebook post written by a classmate at his small-town Canadian high school. Still, Will doesn't dive headfirst into the world of gay right off. His first foray is a trip to the gayborhoods of Vancouver, where he visits a coffee shop. He refrains from the dating scene until he creates a profile on an online gay social network (a thinly disguised Manhunt.net). There he meets Riley, a 23-year-old realtor. The two connect: Riley teaches Will how to swim and how to party, and soon Will finds himself enveloped in his world. Things go awry, however, with Riley’s ill-timed revelation of a secret. Harris' work swiftly explores coming out and gay culture in an unflinching way that may be refreshing to readers who've grown tired of the chaste, heavy-handed LGBT novels of the past few years. He packs in lots of raw language and scenes, including one in which Will loses his virginity. The Boys in the Band and other emblems of gay culture run rampant. The only fault in the novel is its length; Harris creates several other intriguing secondary characters who could use more fleshing out, and the ending feels rushed.

An abbreviated coming-out story for the 21st-century teen.