In the Role of Brie Hutchens...

When strong-willed, theatrical eighth grader Brie Hutchens tells a lie because she isn’t quite ready to come out to her mother, she must navigate the consequences in her relationships with her family, friends, and faith in this own-voices LGBTQ novel from the acclaimed author of Hurricane Season.

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“A nuanced exploration of how to reconcile faith and identity . . . This funny, tender, and heart-wrenching story will have readers calling for an encore.” —Kirkus Reviews, starred review Introducing Brie Hutchens: soap opera superfan, aspiring actor, and so-so student. Brie has big plans for eight grade. But when her mom walks in on her accidentally looking at some possibly inappropriate photos of her favorite actress, Brie sees her dream of attending the performing arts high school falling apart. So she blurts out that she’s been chosen to crown the Mary statue during her Catholic school’s ceremony in May. It’s a giant honor . . . but Brie is totally lying. The lie works, and Brie’s mom is distracted with pride. Unfortunately, Brie has almost no chance to get the job, which always goes to a top student. Someone like Kennedy, the girl everyone expects to crown Mary. Brie turns to Kennedy for help, but sometimes just looking at her gives Brie butterflies. Juggling confusing feelings with the rapidly approaching May Crowning, Brie tries to figure out how to finally make her mother really see her as she is, before her lies catch up with her.