THE EDGE OF BEING

A young person goes on a quest for his other parent.

High school senior Isaac “Fig” Griffin is lost. He feels like his best friend, Charlie, and his boyfriend, Christopher, have their desired paths charted out for him, but the White, pansexual teen can’t move on until he finds the truth about the other half of his genetic makeup. His single mother had told him that he was the result of an anonymous sperm donor, but a hidden box of memories leads him to San Francisco, an aging hippie’s home for transient youth, and the connection between his family and the 1966 Compton’s Cafeteria Riots, during which trans women, sex workers, and gay men fought back against police oppression three years before Stonewall. Told in baroque prose and over-the-top dialogue, the story—as evidenced by the lengthy author’s note—clearly came out of Brandon’s desire to share this undeniably pivotal and important piece of history. Unfortunately, however, these educational goals drive the plot in such a way that at many points the novel comes off as more of a lesson than a natural exploration of Fig’s journey. The plot also moves forward via a series of majorly helpful coincidences. Self-injury, sexual assault, and racism are explored through underdeveloped supporting characters.

Sentimental and overloaded.