I really enjoyed this story. The way the author incorporated the Lincoln history into a YA novel made for a unique reading experience. It was hard to read about the negative reactions of Wyatt’s schoolmates and townspeople, but you realize this is the unfortunate truth of some people’s experiences.

I'll start by saying that this book in now in my TOP 5 of the more than 130 books I've read so far this year! I think it's a terrific YA novel, for many reasons-- more than that, I think it has broad appeal (and importance) to a much wider circle of readers.

Author Lee Wind writes with passion and clarity, weaving in important words regarding bullying, coming out, acceptance and equality. All this as 15 year old Wyatt explores the very real possibility Abraham Lincoln might have been gay. And if Lincoln was gay-- his family and friends would easily accept his own coming out, right?

Even though Wind's hero (Wyatt) believes this to be true, he (Wind) does not try to convince or drive this home to the reader-- instead he asks the reader to open their mind to the possibility; he builds an even stronger case for how fascinating history can be. There's so much more to discover when you take the time to look deeper for the truth.

And then there is Martin. What a perfect example of hope and a conceivable future. Wind not only uses Martin to show Wyatt 'what can be' but also uses him to transition the story from coming out to one of acceptance and equality. Wind carefully sidesteps the easy choice of merely pointing fingers at villains and instead shows the potential for change-- in the hearts and minds of people willing to open their minds.

I certainly wish books like this had been available when I was at that young stage of my life. I would have felt less alone-- even though the connection was (would have been) with a fictional character in a book. I felt a magical bond with the story and highly recommend it for people of all ages.

I received an ARC from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

My thanks to NetGalley for a copy of this book. Reading the description and praises I was very curious about the book.. Maybe my expectations were just to high. I thought it an entertaining story referring to one of the most important US history. But just not my kind of book. But I'm sure there will be lots of readers who are going to enjoy it a lot.