Fraternity
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3.7 • 6 Ratings
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- $9.99
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- $9.99
Publisher Description
A queer, dark academia YA story about a mysterious boarding school, a brotherhood that must stay in the shadows, and an ancient evil that could tear it all apart.
In the fall of 1991, Zooey Orson transfers to the Blackfriars School for Boys hoping for a fresh start following a scandal at his last school. However, he quickly learns that he isn’t the only student keeping a secret. Before he knows it, he’s fallen in with a group of boys who all share the same secret, one which they can only express openly within the safety of the clandestine gatherings of the Vicious Circle––the covert club for gay students going back decades. But when the boys unwittingly happen upon the headmaster’s copy of an arcane occult text, they unleash an eldritch secret so terrible, it threatens to consume them all.
A queer paranormal story set during the still-raging AIDS crisis, Fraternity examines a time not so long ago when a secret brotherhood lurked in the shadows. What would Zooey and his friends do to protect their found family?
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Three queer teens reckon with supernatural powers beyond their control in this sweeping work of dark academia by Mientus (the Backstagers series), set in the early 1990s. Students Leo, Daniel, and Zooey have bonded over the fact that they all like boys. While Zooey "wouldn't, couldn't, admit it," he's relieved when Daniel and Leo welcome him into their Massachusetts all-boys boarding school's secret gay club, the Vicious Circle. After the homophobic bullying of Zooey by classmates outside VC takes a severe turn, Daniel and Leo share the grimoire with which they've been experimenting, which contains spells they believe can help him manage his torment. The powers they summon, however, and their devastating consequences, leave the trio struggling to protect themselves from unpredictable paranormal forces. The teens perform spells that lean into anti-semitic stereotypes, referencing conspiracy theories regarding Jewish peoples' control over "the systems of the world." Alternating perspectives explore myriad facets of queer experiences and their intersections with race and class, and fantastical occult happenings adeptly intertwine with real-world issues such as conversion therapy and the AIDS crisis. An author's note contextualizes instances of sexual violence. Zooey is white and Korean; Daniel is Black; Leo is white-cued. Ages 14–up.
