The gayest story ever written about a straight teenage boy.

Fort Lauderdale, Florida, 2002. Seventeen-year-old Cheeto-stained Asher is at his breaking point. A locker room brawl and a sick black eye push him over the edge. Luke, Palm Reef Prep's Abercrombie-clad frat boy fascist, needs to go. And Sam, Asher's vicious lust bunny, deserves better. So Asher does something totally deranged: he comes out as gay to get Luke expelled. Somehow, it works.

Suddenly Asher's a hot commodity, tangled up with his tragic, Austin Powers-quoting best friend, Robbie, and club-hopping with Ethan, an actual gay kid. It's all vodka Red Bulls, rainbow flags, and parking lot soul-gushing—until it's not. Night swims get sketchy. Dancefloor staredowns get dark. And grinding with Sam and Ethan gets way too real. The line between real and bullshit has officially disappeared, and Asher is one slip away from total nuclear destruction.

Who It’s For

Asher Diamond is Definitely Gay is a YA crossover novel for anyone who’s ever been humiliated by a teenager. It’s got the juicy drama of Degrassi, the sad-boy spiral of The Perks of Being a Wallflower, and the hater energy of Daria: totally awkward, hilariously unhinged, and painfully honest. A millennial fever dream for fans of weird, queer, voicey fiction who love dark comedy—and don’t mind spending time in the brain of a straight boy.

Perfect for readers who loved Becky Albertalli’s Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda’s charming vulnerability, Casey McQuiston’s One Last Stop’s romantic absurdity, and the bittersweet pull of Adam Silvera’s They Both Die at the End. Fans of David Sedaris’s self-deprecating wit and Andrew Sean Greer’s tender, satirical humor will feel right at home.

About the Author

Andrew Extein is a psychotherapist and writer in Los Angeles. Asher Diamond is Definitely Gay is his first novel.