Between the Head and the Hands was an understated yet engaging and memorable novel focusing on Michael, a young gay man who comes out to his conservative Lebanese parents and is kicked out for it. the plot follows Michael as he struggles to find a place to live, to finish college, and to come to terms with his radically new life. I connected with Michael as a character, his aimless, headlong dive into dating and gay life mirrors the formative years of many young queer people as they’re defining themselves and just starting to grasp at their identities. Sure, he makes mistakes and sometimes behaves in an immature way, but this felt very believable given his previously sheltered background and the sudden freedom and relative isolation he experienced after leaving home. I also appreciated how true to life the story felt, there was tragedy and triumph, yes, but of the everyday variety. Michael comes out to his parents on a whim, absent any huge cinematic monologue, and he drifts through the next few years of young adulthood the way many people do, with highs and lows but without any improbable plot twists or Dickensian story arcs.

Overall, the book felt like an honest, compelling, and thoroughly modern coming of age story, I burned through it in one day.