You’ve Goth My Heart

Gr 10 Up–Sixteen-year-old Goth Gray lives in Sleepy Hollow, NY, where he and his eldergoth moms practice self-defined paganism and run a Goth-friendly shop. One night a wrong-number text turns into a text-friendship—maybe more?—with another Goth. Gray longs for a boyfriend, since he broke up with a closeted boy who wouldn’t acknowledge him in public. Gray’s besties think new student Malcolm, a Goth drag queen, might work, but Gray disagrees. He finds the former New Yorker rude, snobby, and disparaging of the suburbs. Even worse, Malcolm declares he will win the town’s Halloween decorating contest, which Gray and his friends always win. Even if his Gray’s text-boyfriend may be a serial killer, Gray much prefers him, and they plan to meet on Halloween. Fans of the Goth aesthetic will love the extensive clothing, makeup, and decor descriptions; pop-culture connections; pagan ceremonies; graveyard festivals; and more. Fans of both the friends-to-lovers and enemies-to-lovers tropes will appreciate Gray and Malcolm’s blossoming relationship. On the cautionary side, Gray’s fierce, creative, protective friends offer strong messages about staying safe online, and his loving mothers give good advice that Gray actually follows. Mixing extensive text threads with prose, the well-structured plot moves quickly and is relatively low on angst. Instances of sexting, sending semi-nudes, and overt sexual references are consistent with the characters’ ages. Gray and Malcolm are cued white. Gray’s friends are Black and of Latinx/Irish descent.