Exquisite Things

Ages 14 And Up, Grades 9 And Up

A sweeping, hauntingly epic love story that spans centuries from Stonewall award-winning author Abdi Nazemian (Only This Beautiful Moment). Perfect for fans of The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue and Oscar Wilde.

Shahriar believes he was born in the wrong time. All he’s ever wanted is to love and be loved, but 1895 London doesn’t offer him the freedom to be his true self, and Oscar Wilde’s trial for gross indecency has only reaffirmed that. But one night—and one writer—will grant Shahriar what he’s always wished for: the opportunity to live in a time and place where he can love freely. Rechristened as Shams and then as Bram, he finds what feels like eternal happiness. But can anything truly be eternal?Oliver doesn’t feel that 1920s Boston gives him a lot of options to be his full self. He knows he could only ever love another boy, but that would break his beloved mother’s heart. Oliver finds freedom and acceptance in the secret queer community at Harvard that his cousin introduces him to. When he meets a mysterious boy with eyes as warm as a flame, his life is irrevocably changed forever.   Spanning 130 years of love and longing, this tale of immortal beloveds searching for their perfect place and time from Stonewall award-winning author Abdi Nazemian is a vibrant hymn to the beauty of being alive, a celebration of queer love and community, and a reminder that behind every tragic thing that ever existed, there is something exquisite.

About the Author

Abdi Nazemian is the author of Only This Beautiful Moment—winner of the 2024 Stonewall Award and 2024 Lambda Literary Award—and Like a Love Story, a Stonewall Honor Book and one of Time magazine’s 100 Best YA Books of All Time. He is also the author of the young adult novels Desert Echoes, The Chandler Legacies, and The Authentics. His novel The Walk-In Closet won the Lambda Literary Award for LGBT Debut Fiction. His screenwriting credits include the films The Artist’s Wife, The Quiet, and Menendez: Blood Brothers and the television series Ordinary Joe and The Village. He has been an executive producer and associate producer on numerous films, including Call Me by Your Name, Little Woods, and The House of Tomorrow. He lives in Los Angeles with his husband, their two children, and their dog, Disco. Find him online at abdinazemian.com.