I received an ARC of this book from the publisher via Netgalley in return for an honest review.

We Are Lost and Found follows the story of gay teen Michael and his friends coming to age in New York in the 80s during the AIDS crisis.

This is a poignant book with moments of fun and joy as well as harrowing moments which portray the reality of what it was like for gay people during this time when they were living in constant fear.

The one, very tiny problem I had with the book is the lack of speech marks and how it jumps around which made it a little hard to follow, however this only happened a few times and the further into the book I got the easier it became.

I loved this book it made me laugh and it made me want to cry it is a book that will stay with you long after you have finished and I implore you to read it when it comes out in early Septmber.

For fans of the 80s and young adult, this is right up your alley! As a huge fan of both, this one sucked me right in and the writing pulled me into the story like no other. Definitely a captivating read!

Silence is not the answer.

My heart is still breaking a little bit just thinking of this story.

The novel follows young Michael, a “lost” boy in 1983’s New York City who is happy to let his eccentric best friend James take center stage in life, dance away his troubles at his favourite club The Echo, and above all, scared to come out to his parents after they kicked out his older brother Connor for doing so a while back. Together with his best friends James and Becky, Michael wades his way through life, just waiting to find himself and be able to be that self out loud – without consequences.

The backdrop to this magical story is a city caught up in the beginning stages of the looming threat that AIDS is spreading – fast. Caught up in his own funk over his sexuality, Michael becomes ever more worried – how big of a threat is AIDS, really? Should he be scared? Should this fear detain him from falling in love? And how is he ever supposed to allow himself to fall in love if that love might end up killing him?

Helene Dunbar manages to create a raw, tense atmosphere that mirrors the era of her novel perfectly. Throughout the story, you feel the longing, the agony, the fear that LGBTQ+ people had to (and still) live with. Random gay bashings, the slurred homophobic comment, the quick glance you throw over your shoulder before holding your lover’s hand in public – all this paired with the constant fear of contracting something that might leave you abandoned by all your peers and family in fear of catching an illness no one really knows how to treat or vanquish entirely.

I confess, this book isn’t an easy one to read. For one, the story takes a while to gain momentum and when it does, it still is hard to stay engaged, though I credit that more to the tough issue than the writing. It’s difficult to keep on hoping that Michael will get everything that he wants when you want to also throttle his homophobic father and passive mother, his friend who won’t tell him the truth about the sudden disappearance of an old roommate, or Michael’s brother who’s just living life from one guy to another, not caring about the possibility of getting…

And there it is.

The moment of enlightenment.

It’s a certain type of magic that Helene Dunbar managed with this story because it draws the reader in and then makes them question all their prior knowledge about sexuality, family values, responsibility and history. Because as I read, I understood that this was – this is the reality for so many LGBTQ+ people. We are in the closet and we are scared to come out – not because we don’t want to be ourselves but because we are held back by fathers who might throw us out of the only homes we’ve ever known, mothers who are too scared to defend their children against their husbands they’ve come to love before we were even born, by people who might judge us for being sexually active or wanting to explore what it means to love and be loved, to dress the way we want to, to take part in theatrical plays debating the silence that is at once oppressive and yet still a safety blanket. Because coming out is about so much more than just uttering one sentence.

As we follow Michael falling in love and questioning what it means to be himself, what it means to live his truth and what he is willing to sacrifice for it, we learn that everyone has their own journey, their own obstacles to face in the fight for love.

We Are Lost and Found serves as a reminder that living a lie only to please other people was and is still a thing that’s happening when it really shouldn’t be. It’s a reminder that even though we have come a long way from the 80s, even though we are just entering an era in which the LGBTQ+ community can be who they are more openly, that we should not forget our roots, should not forget that this has been a long time coming, and that we have yet so much more to go until we are “found”. A hauntingly beautiful, yet scarring story that captures the struggles of figuring out who you are while facing the uncertainties of the world, a story that should be mandatory reading for all.

DNF.

I had a hard time getting hooked into the book because the plot was practically nonexistent. The characters weren't as well developed as I had hoped they'd be. Lackluster.

I love Helene Dunbar. These Gentle Wounds ranks among my all-time favorite YA, and I recommend it to nearly every student looking for good realistic fiction. I enjoyed What Remains and have Boomerang on my TBR pile, so I was super exited to get a DRC of this one.

This was NOT what I was expecting. It feels almost...experimental? It's disjointed and ethereal, skipping from scene-to-scene with this strange, hazy feeling where sometimes we're getting in-your-face narration and sometimes we're getting existential pondering. And sometimes it's cool--but sometimes I just wanted to straight-up engage in Michael's story. The lack of punctuation (there are no quotation marks or italics to indicate dialogue) is also distracting, and will make this a hard-sell for struggling or reluctant readers. It's definitely too mature and deep for my middle school students, and most of the pop culture references will be completely lost on young readers.

That being said, the setting of the book is super cool--you can almost FEEL the 1980's NYC vibe oozing out of the pages. Watching Michael struggle with wanting to live an authentic life and dealing with unknown terrors of the newly-identified AIDS virus is an emotional roller coaster. His friend James is quirky and interesting, though I wish his friend Becky had been a little more developed.

An interesting LGBTQ historical tale and a fabulous setting...but the rest was just a little all over the place.

Thanks Netgalley and Sourcebooks for the advanced readers copy of We Are Lost and Found by Helene Dunbar.

Michael is attempting to navigate his way through life as a closeted gay teenager during the start of the AIDS crisis in the early 1980s. His brother Conner has already been kicked out of their family home for coming out, so Michael leans on his close friends James and Becky, who carry their own personal struggles.

While I admire the attempt to bring light to the history of AIDS, especially for YA readers, it just didn’t feel well-executed. Michael’s struggle with identity felt like the overall theme and I was left searching for a plot that didn’t exist. I wanted to feel more invested in each of the characters and their struggles and I think teens would too.

Soooo, while this was an interesting idea for a story, as well as a great journey to discovering one's sexuality and coming out, it was a little...hodgepodge. Everything felt like a series of events just being listed out without any real depth to any of the characters or development of relationships. Plus the lack of quotations (was this a quirk of the ARC or a style device?) made it a little difficult to follow half the time. I wanted to like this story more than I did because it was an interesting time in the AIDS epidemic to look at a young man's POV at, but it just didn't really follow through as I would have liked.

This is a beautifully written exploration of three friends. The writing was lyrical, the characters were fully developed, and the setting (New York in the 80s) so pitch-perfect. A gorgeous novel.

This novel was a DNF, I had a hard time keeping up with the characters and the plot of the novel. I enjoyed the time period it was written it, but could not connect with the novel

I absolutely adored this book. What a beautiful and eye opening novel. I felt so invested in all of the characters but particularly Michael and Gabriel’s relationship. You never hear the stories of kids this age, who are really discovering themselves and their sexuality, and how heartbreaking it must have been to fear that your entree into that could be the thing that kills you at a young age. This book really moved me and i can’t wait to recommend it to everyone.

Apart from 'The Handmaid's Tale' by Margeret Atwood, this might be the most important novel that I had read thus far this year. As the synopsis had stated, the story is set in the 1980s, where societal attitudes toward homosexuality were not pleasant and the threat of AIDs was discommoding to the gay community as no one understood what was going on and how this disease was supposed to be prevented. This novel allows us to witness the struggles of the people back in the '80s which I will converse more on in the atmospheric section of this review.

"But it's like going back to your old elementary school to visit your teachers and finding the water fountains too low to reach. Maybe The Echo hasn't changed, but I have."

This novel follows Michael, a closeted-gay whose father had recently banned his brother from coming home as he had come out to his parents for being gay. His plan was to lay low and not make irrational decisions in fear of being kicked out of the house like his brother by his father. His father, who was verbally abusive, tormented him with abhorrent terms day and night and the only way he could forget all of these for a little while was attending a club christened 'The Echo' where he danced it all out and dissipated himself in the flow. As the story progresses, the imminent threat of AIDs became more apparent and everybody in the gay community was afraid that they might catch the disease if they were to have sexual intercourse. This affected our main character on several levels as he was afraid for his best friend, James and his brother's lives.

"Oh, Michael, seriously? What do you think they said? That it was random. Wrong place, wrong time. That sort of thing. But even if they’d caught someone, you know how these things play out. They’ll claim I made a pass as them, that they simply couldn’t help but protect themselves from the onslaught of my passions. As if."

The ambience around this novel was gripping, upsetting and agitating. Upsetting because of how the protagonist and his brother were treated at home. Gripping because of how the threat of AIDs was exterminating people and that there was not an excavated prevention to AIDs as they do not understand what it was back in the '80s. Agitating because of how society treated people who were gay back then and it tugged at my heartstrings to read about it.

"James hesitated because he knows I hate inviting myself to places. The feeling that I might be intruding."

Similar to the writing style of 'The Handmaid's Tale', the writing style of this novel lacked quotation marks. To be honest, I do not like this kind of writing style as it does not correlate with me and I would also be confused half of the time by the lack of quotations. A sample to how lack of quotations in writing style goes in my brain: Is the character conversing? Is he having an internal monologue? Is he exhibiting his emotions or is he saying his feeling out loud? What? Oh, he is conversing with James. Other than the paucity of quotations, I thought the writing style was well-rounded and polished in a debonair manner. Moreover, I could not stop excerpting the book as the whole book was so quotable. For example:

"Her answer feels wrong. Limited. Like, there have to be more than two options."

"Rules. My father's rules: Don't make noise. Don't draw the wrong kind of attention to yourself. Don't stand up for anything you believe in. Don't show any emotion that isn't anger. Don't be yourself."

"Books. Cassettes. Tiny origami shapes: dragons and roses and stars. My father sneers at these gifts when I don't get to them first."

GOOSEBUMPS, am I right?

An element in the book which I did not particularly enjoy was the incessant repetition of our protagonist going to The Echo to dance. It took several homogeneous scenes of our protagonist rollicking in The Echo for something to finally transpire. I thought if those scenes could be shortened down and the plot was to be impelled forward without those verbose displays, this would absolutely be an irreproachable book (exclude the quotation marks).

In conclusion, I am furnishing this novel with a (B) 75%. I thought it was an important novel that should be read by everyone as it would give you an insight into the '80s and how people were treated back then with the emerging fulminations of AIDs.

Arc kindly provided through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own. Thank you.

We are lost and found was quietly stunning. To be honest it really got me. the discussion of AIDS and the fear in everyone especially the gay community was respectfully and informatively handled. Dunbar is a pro.

The prose in this book was spectacular while i was reading this book i was highlighting and making notes like a crazy person. You bet i’m picking up a finished copy when it comes out.

WHAT IS THIS BOOK
We are lost and found follows a boy named Michael struggling to come to terms with himself and who he is as a person. He knows he is gay and he knows that he can’t come out without being kicked out like his brother, Connor. Michael also- like every other hormonal teenager -wants to have sex but in the 80s where the fear of contracting AIDS is ever present he refuses to take those steps. After meeting Gabriel, a boy who shows him what it feels like to be alive, he starts wondering about what people’s silence about AIDS is doing to the fear inside of himself and everyone else.

MICHAEL
Michael is relatable in a way that is almost confusing. It’s like I know you are a mess and i’m a mess but we are two completely different messes but in our hearts we understand each other. He’s hurting. He’s broken. He’s scared. HES A GAY TEEN. How relatable. Michaels relationship with his friends Becky and James made me extremely happy. The fact that James also being gay didn’t make them a couple was something i’ve rarely seen and appreciated greatly.

Wow.

Michaels relationship with his brother was another aspect of this book that i found really interesting. Connor seemed to be used as a cautionary tale for Michael not only because of his coming out and the response from their parents but also the way Connor leads his life as a 20 year in New York during the 80s. One thing i absolutely loved was the exploration of Michaels fear and displacement. He has no idea what he’s doing and that’s real crap man.

What i didn’t like
Now something i didn’t like about this book was the way the author glossed over Gabriel’s character. Like excuse me i know that boy has secrets TELL ME WHAT THEY ARE. I also tend to enjoy open endings but this one annoyed me because there is literally no context to why Gabriel is there he just is there. It was weird. Also I have a lot of questions that were never answered. Hello what’s up with James?? Gabriel who are you? and Becky why haven’t you dumped Andy?????

Overall i think this book is most importantly a story about being a gay boy during the AIDS crisis while also having a homophobic butt of a dad. So basically it’s about trying to find your place in a world that’s confusing and messy and weird and that my friends is real.

happy pride month!!!!
🏳️‍🌈❤️🧡💛💚💙💜
ITS GAYYYYYYYYY 😊

I remember the mid 80's when there was lots talk about this new disease that seemed to be plaguing the gay population. Very quickly we learned that people from all walks of life very dying from what became known as AIDS. This is the book for those who weren't around at that time but who are curious about it was like to grow up then.

Michael , James and Becky are teen best friends living in New York City. They are trying to figure out who they are and what they want out of life. Michael is gay but can't tell his family and his older brother was kicked out of the house when he came out. James is also gay and trying to make a name for himself as a performer. Becky is dating Andy, though doesn't know if they should remain together. One thing they all have in common, is that they are scared by this new plague that is striking down so many people in their city. They are either at risk of catching it, or seeing their friends become sick.

These are thoughts that teens should not have to deal with. Their lives should be safe, their parents should want to protect them and not kick them to the street just because they are different. I remember, at that time there was a saying 'sex is death'. If that isn't scary to a 16 year old, I don't know what is.

I feel that author Helene Dunbar has handled these topics carefully and respectfully. She hasn't diminished the importance of them, nor has she glorified any one sides views. She has been honest and I would say, blunt. I could almost feel James' fear as he considered when and how to tell his parents that he was gay. It would never be a good time to tell his dad, but it was getting harder and harder to live with his true self hidden away.

A wonderful book that should appeal to young people as well as those who remember the 80's.

I received an advanced reader copy of this book from Sourcebooks Fire and Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

5/5⭐️😍

So, it’s rare for me to give a book 5 stars without question, but this book is so important and I love it so much that I have to. I plan on preordering it ASAP.

What is it about?: Michael Bartolomeo (I think I spelled it right?), a gay teen, lives in New York in 1983. AIDS is a big, rising crisis at the time and casualties are rising, and no one really knows what causes it and how to prevent it. Michael isn’t too affected by it, but it worries him, and when he meets Gabriel, another gay boy who returns his attraction, he starts to wonder how he can be in love, have sex with a boy, and feel at peace with this epidemic. He also ponders coming out, but fears turning out like his brother, Conner, who came out years before and ended up being kicked out by his parents. This book is about a teenage boy trying to survive in a world that doesn’t want him to be himself.

Like I said before — this book is so so important. It covers the numerous topics of struggle for lgbt teens and people, and shows what it was like for lgbt people as society begins its shift to become what it is now. It was also very educational as it taught me the history of AIDS and the research done from then till now. It also covered two Afterwords, one talking about the setting and what was accurate and what wasn’t (the bars, the 80s music, the locations, other stuff in New York) and the start of AIDS and the fear and stigma, and the other discussing the research done for AIDS and from after the rise of the epidemic until now.

The characters were also so lovable and dynamic. I don’t want to spoil anything, but I loved the growth in Michael’s brother, Conner, and I felt like James and Becky, Michael’s friends, were real. I really hope there is some kind of sequel following James because I’m curious as to what he experiences after the book (no spoilers here! 😂). I love love LOVE this book and I’m definitely going to be mentioning it repeatedly on all social media platforms I have until it comes out because I really think it is a book that should be read by everyone in the bookstagram community, and the world in general to be honest 😂.

That being said, thank you so so much Netgalley and the publishers for giving me an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. I loved this book so much, and I’m so glad I had this opportunity to read and review it.

3.5 "1980s gay teen angst with a bit too much" stars !!

Thank you to Netgalley, Sourcebooks and the author for a copy of this book. In exchange I am providing my review. This book is to be released September 2019.

I pushed this up my reading list to make it my Pride read of 2019.

There is a lot to like in Ms. Dunbar's novel of three teen best friends living their lives in 1983 New York. The time and place felt very genuine with many cultural and musical icons, the club scene, fighting over the home telephone, the fashions and the social attitudes toward the LGBT community.
Ms. Dunbar was able to get across the burgeoning AIDS crisis and the lack of support in researching and treating this most horrible virus. The author also knows how to write about young love whether it be between homosexual or heterosexual couples.

There is too much here though. Packed into one year so many events occur and often this reads like....this happened and then this happened and then this happened to the detriment of character development and emotional processing of what is occurring in their lives. The teens also had much more wisdom than is possible for those tender ages. I also must admit that the last third of the book was a bit much and became more like an NBC after school special with parental guidance warnings.

Happy Pride everyone !!

Wow. Wow. Wow.
This book is a beautifully written & emotional coming-of-age at an incredibly poignant & critical time in American history.

“I’m on the edge of something. On the edge and I want to fall. I want to fall so badly.”

Exquisitely detailed, the rhythm & repetition with which this book is written makes you feel like you’re actually dancing to all the quintessential 80’s songs referenced.

“...this rhythm has infected us.”

It’s raw & quick. Captivating, concise, and concentrated on the details of the inner-thoughts and emotions of Michael as he attempts to find himself and navigates high school with two eccentric friends, James and Becky, and his older, gay brother, Conner. The fears of the time, with the AIDs crisis and the lack of acceptance toward the gay community work their way under your skin and put you right on the edge with all of them.

“WE ARE EVERYWHERE reads one poster... For the first time, I feel like I’m exactly where I’m supposed to be.”

If you’re a theater geek, a music junkie, a member of the LGBTQ community or an ally, you’ll love this book. If you’re a child of the 80’s or a native New Yorker or an avid clubber, you need to pick up this book. If you’re interested in history, the AIDS crisis, or love/life in general, you should read this book.

A very powerful page-turner that I couldn't put down. I fell for the characters and could relate to them. I highly recommend this to everyone and this book definitely deserves some hype.

Really enjoyed this book. Liked that it talked about HIV/AIDS because more people need to know about it. I CRIED !!! and I’m glad Michael’s story was told.

For the most part, I enjoyed this novel. It is refreshing to read a young adult novel set in the time of the AIDS crisis, and Dunbar gives us a unique, compelling voice. Though the novel is not own voices, it is clear Dunbar has done a lot of research. I am now encouraged to find more stories written about the queer experience in the 80s by queer authors, and those affected by the AIDS crisis.

One feature that made this novel unique was Michael’s relationship with his brother, Connor. It is rare in YA novels to find a family which has more than one queer sibling even though this is the reality for many families. The fraternal relationship added complexity to the story, added complexity to how Michael feels about his own identity and coming out.

I also enjoyed the vignette form the novel took. It really suits the coming of age narrative as Michael tries to sort together his identity and relationships to those around him. However, my level of enjoyment reading the novel was inconsistent. At some points, I felt deeply connected to Michael, James and Becky, but then at other points, the characters felt flat, underdeveloped and trope-y. This is perhaps an issue with me as a reader rather than a fault on Dunbar’s half.

One issue I had with reading the novel was trying to distinguish between the dialogue and description. At the beginning this was particularly problematic when the voices of each character hadn’t been clearly established, and this was something I also stumbled on reading the rest of the novel.

Saying that, I am still interested to see what Helene Dunbar writes next. I am glad I read We Are Lost and Found as it often moved me, resonated with me, and made me deeply feel the pain and confusion the characters were going through.

I read this book in a few hours—I couldn’t tear myself away from the artful prose and lively and beautifully rendered characters. This is the first YA book I’ve read about the AIDS crisis in NYC, and I think an important perspective is displayed in this a heart-wrenching and captivating novel.