Available Formats
I Can't Even Think Straight: A queer coming of age story
By (Author) Dean Atta
Hachette Children's Group
Hodder Children's Books
26th August 2025
29th May 2025
United Kingdom
Young Adult
Fiction
Childrens / Teenage personal and social topics: LGBTQIA+
Childrens / Teenage personal and social topics: Self-awareness and self-esteem
Childrens / Teenage personal and social topics: First / new experiences and life
Childrens / Teenage fiction: Stories in verse
823.92
Paperback
368
Width 128mm, Height 196mm, Spine 30mm
297g
Big decisions and messy relationships. It's all part of life for Kai. A must-read queer coming of age story for fans of Sarah Crossan and Sex Education, written in verse by Stonewall-Award-winning, Carnegie-shortlisted author Dean Atta.
Kai is going into a new school year with some big decisions to make: when to come out as gay, what he wants to do in life and who he wants to date. Is it any wonder he can't think straight Best friends Matt and Kai made a promise to each other to stay in the closet. Matt isn't ready to come out, but Kai wants nothing more than to write his own story. He decides it's time to break his promise and show his true self to the world.Now out and proud, Kai starts dating super-hot Obi, but it's far from smooth sailing. Is love closer to home than Kai realisesDean Atta is the author of YA novels-in-verse The Black Flamingo and Only on the Weekends. Named as 'one of poetry's greatest modern voices' (Gay Times). The Black Flamingo was a top-selling debut of 2020 and was shortlisted for the Waterstones Children's Book Prize, CILIP Carnegie Medal, The Jhalak Prize and The YA Book Prize. The Black Flamingo was also awarded the prestigious Stonewall Book Award and the Carnegie Shadowers' Choice Award 2020, and sold to the US in a five-way publisher auction.