Tomas Mournian

Fri., Feb. 25, 5:30 p.m., free, Giovanni's Room, 345 S. 12th St., 215-923-2960, giovannisroom.com.

by Gary M. Kramer

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Published: Feb 23, 2011

[ reading/signing ]

The queer youth in Tomas Mournian's dazzling new novel, Hidden (Kensington, Feb. 1), can't wait for "it gets better" — they need help right now. Mournian's urgent story about runaway teens living in a safe house stemmed from his article on the subject for the San Francisco Bay Guardian. "I wanted to talk about issues of queer youth today," Mournian says of Hidden 's LGBTQ teens, who grapple with everything from rejection by their parents and bullying to addiction and prostitution. "We as a community aren't putting enough attention toward these issues," Mournian says. "Queer kids need [peer] role models. They need to be able to date in junior high. Then we would have a different gay community coming-of-age. They would be empowered." Hidden 's teens work things out on their own, and that — along with Mournian's precise, crisp writing — is what makes this bold book shine.

Fri., Feb. 25, 5:30 p.m., free, Giovanni's Room, 345 S. 12th St., 215-923-2960, giovannisroom.com.

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