Desert Echoes

Gr 10 Up–Two years have passed since Kam’s first boyfriend, Ash, went missing during their camping trip to Joshua Tree National Park. Everybody else has moved on, but Kam believes that Ash is still alive. Bodie, Kam’s best friend, does what he can to help, but Kam still blames himself for whatever happened to Ash. When the school’s Gay Straight Alliance (GSA) decides on Joshua Tree for their annual trip, Kam decides to go, hoping that something will jog his memory. Partially inspired by Nazemian’s first boyfriend, this story exists in two alternating time lines. The first is set after Ash goes missing, while the second is everything that leads up to that moment. Both plots converge to deliver a satisfying finale exploring the pain and realities of loss, addiction, generational trauma, and finding love. Set during the COVID-19 pandemic, the novel includes plenty of painful reminders of life during quarantine, social distancing, and masks. At times, the messaging feels contrived and takes readers out of the story in the first half of the book. However, things pick up in the second half when the mystery begins to unfold. Kam, Bodie, and their families are Iranian American while the supporting characters are coded as white. The GSA students represent a wide range of identities within the LGBTQIA+ community.