Published in 2014, One Man Guy by Michael Barakiva is the first [*] young adult novel featuring a gay Armenian-American character that was written by an Armenian-American.
One Man Guy was named to the Rainbow List, Equality Family Council Reading List. It spent over a year as Goodreads #1 LGBTQ YA Novel and was named as one of Barnes and Nobles’ Perfect Valentine’s Day YA Novels 2017 list.
Barakiva is a writer, director, and producer. He is the founding Artistic Director of The Upstart Creatures, a not-for-profit theatre company based in New York City. His novel Hold My Hand, a sequel to One Many Guy, was published in 2019. His third book, These Precious Stones, is due for publication in 2022.
Alek Khederian was looking forward to a relaxing summer. But when his parents announce that he’ll be attending summer school in order to bring up his grades, Alek is sure this experience will be just as hellish as his freshman year of high school. But he never could’ve predicted that he’d meet someone like Ethan.
From the book cover
The hero of the novel is Alek Khedarian. It’s the summer after his Freshman year in high school and his parents have sent him to summer school. This is where he meets Ethan.
Ethan introduces Alek to a variety of new experiences, such as cutting class to go to New York City on their own.
Their romance develops and it is a cheerful one. It is upbeat. In everything Alek has to navigate in this coming-of-age novel, the source of the conflict isn’t Alek and Ethan’s sexuality. The optimism is as electric as the novel’s bright yellow cover.
While Queer YA fiction is blossoming in the United States, there are only three YA novels featuring Queer Armenian-Americans. Barakiva has written two of the three.
If available, please consider buying a copy at Abril Books. This book may also be available for purchase through the Queer Armenian Library’s shop at Bookshop.org. If you purchase a copy through Bookshop.org we will receive a commission.
Otherwise, please use Indiebound’s bookstore finder to find a copy at your closest independent bookstore.
ISBN: 978-1-250-07357-0. Published by Square Fish, an imprint of MacMillan Publishing Group.
