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I AM CHRIS by R Kent

I AM CHRIS

by R Kent

Pub Date: April 13th, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-63555-904-0
Publisher: Bold Strokes Books

The son of a recently deceased bull-riding legend, Chris Taylor is determined to make a name for himself on the rodeo circuit and give his little sister, Luce, a better life.

With his substance-abusing stepmother in a coma, 17-year-old Chris is separated from what’s left of his family as Luce is put in foster care and he is sent to live in an abusive boys home. Chris hides the fact that he is transgender, knowing he’ll be barred from bull riding if anyone finds out. However, Chris’ secret is just one of his problems. In order to graduate high school, go to college, and get himself and Luce out of their small Texas town, he’ll need to conquer bucking bulls, sadistic bullies, and a sheriff who is mysteriously out for his blood. The captivating, high-stakes plot with its larger-than-life villains verges on melodramatic—and that’s not a bad thing. Chris must learn confidence and trust in his friends as he grapples with sexuality, abuse, corruption, drugs, suicide, and grief. Some of the language around gender and an instance of deadnaming reflect the 1994 Texas setting. Behind an unappealing book cover, Kent has taken elements of Western, coming-of-age, and romance novels and combined them to create a touching yet exciting tale of a young man finding his way in the world. Characters present as White.

A gripping teen Western with a transgender protagonist.

(Fiction. 13-18)