{"product_id":"sugarless-james-magruder-9780299233808","title":"Sugarless","description":"Things look bad for Rick Lahrem, a high school sophomore in a cookie-cutter Chicago suburb in 1976. His mother's second husband is a licensed psychologist who eats like an ape, his stepsister is a stoner slut, and his father is engaged to a Southern belle. Rick's only solace is his growing collection of original Broadway-cast LPs, bought on the sly at Wax Trax.\u003cbr\u003e After he brings two girls in speech class to tears by reading a story aloud, Rick is coaxed onto the interscholastic forensics team to perform an eight-minute dramatic interpretation of \u003ci\u003eThe Boys in the Band\u003c\/i\u003e, the controversial sixties play about homosexuality. Unexpectedly successful at this oddball event, Rick begins winning tournaments and making friends with his teammates.\u003cbr\u003e Rick also discovers the joys of sex--with a speech coach from a rival school--just as his mother, reacting to a deteriorating home environment, makes an unnerving commitment to Christ. The newly confident Rick assumes this too shall pass--until the combined forces of family, sex, and faith threaten to undo him at the state meet in Peoria.\u003cbr\u003e James Magruder's \u003ci\u003eSugarless\u003c\/i\u003e offers a ruefully entertaining take on the simultaneous struggles of coming-out, coming-of-age, and coming-to-Jesus. A selection of InsightOut Book Club\u003cbr\u003e Finalist, Lambda Book Award for Gay Debut Fiction, Lambda Literary Foundation\u003cbr\u003e Finalist, TLA Gaybie Award for Best Gay Fiction\u003cbr\u003e Semi-finalist, James Branch Cabell First Novelist Award, Virginia Commonwealth University\u003cbr\u003e Semi-finalist, William Saroyan International Prize For Writing, Stanford University\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e James Magruder\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-10:\u003c\/b\u003e 0299233804\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-13:\u003c\/b\u003e 9780299233808\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e University of Wisconsin Press\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eLanguage:\u003c\/b\u003e English\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 10\/22\/2009\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 274\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eFormat:\u003c\/b\u003e Hardcover\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 0.95lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 8.50h x 5.70w x 1.00d\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAward:\u003c\/b\u003e Lambda Literary Awards - Finalist\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eReview Citation(s): \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003ePublishers Weekly\u003c\/i\u003e 08\/24\/2009 pg. 42\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eForeword\u003c\/i\u003e 10\/17\/2009","brand":"James Magruder","offers":[{"title":"Hardcover","offer_id":44054820585727,"sku":"9780299233808","price":24.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0662\/2982\/9887\/files\/img_0fd7ca6f-a932-4e22-8458-b8271e2e12e6.jpg?v=1685032188","url":"https:\/\/www.whiterainbookhouse.com\/products\/sugarless-james-magruder-9780299233808","provider":"WR Book House","version":"1.0","type":"link"}