In the enchanting, affecting Where You'll Find Us, Jen St. Jude's sophomore YA novel, a transgender teen stumbles upon a magical refuge for queer youth where gender-expansive people from different eras live forever, paused in time.
Eighteen-year-old Cal's post-high-school plans are in flux. They had hoped to attend a women's college with their girlfriend, Ramona, until Cal's mother used Cal's iPad to look something up and searches for "transgender, transmasc" popped up, after which Cal's parents disowned them. Ramona announces at prom that she secretly fundraised enough to cover Cal's first year; Cal, overwhelmed by the idea of continuing to live a lie, bolts into the stormy night. In the dark, cold and sopping wet, they find sanctuary in a "white, weatherworn house" called Amaranth.
Amaranth is a home of abundance and acceptance, a "gay paradise" where "time doesn't exist." Its housemates--five ethnically diverse queer folks from different U.S. historical periods--invite Cal to stay, heal, and experience "the thrill of self-recognition." When time unexpectedly restarts, the housemates must leave and reckon with the painful events that caused their initial flights.
St. Jude (If Tomorrow Doesn't Come) draws meaningful parallels between the intertwined lived experiences of LGBTQ+ youth and their elders and thoughtfully explores the many meanings of "family" and "home." They skillfully craft remarkable, complicated characters whose moving stories of life during the Harlem Renaissance and the HIV/AIDS epidemic are interspersed with Cal's passionate narration. Where You'll Find Us brims with emotion, warmth, and authenticity, and the acute, overlapping paths of Amaranth's inhabitants should entice readers until the bittersweet end. --Kieran Slattery, freelance reviewer, teacher, cocreator of Gender Inclusive Classrooms