It Looks Like This [Paperback]

“A haven of understanding for readers who have felt the foolish hand of ignorance trying to prevent them from knowing, being, and loving who they are.” — Kirkus Reviews

A new state, a new city, a new high school. Mike’s father has already found a new evangelical church for the family to attend, even if Mike and his little sister don’t want to go. Dad wants Mike to ditch art for sports, to toughen up, but then Mike meets Sean, another new kid, and “hey” becomes games of basketball, partnering on a French project, hanging out after school. A night at the beach. But Mike’s father is always watching. Rafi Mittlefehldt tells a wrenching tale of first love and loss that exposes the undercurrents of a tidy suburban world.It Looks Like Thislooks to be the debut novel of the season. Mike and Sean’s discovery of their love for each other is told with such exquisite tenderness, I could not put the book down, even when I knew that something dreadful was going to happen. Despite many obstacles, Mike comes into his own with the help of understanding friends, a few kind adults, a faithful dog, and Toby, the greatest little sister since Phoebe Caulfield. This is an extremely powerful book.
—Lesléa Newman, author of October Mourning: A Song for Matthew Shepard

It Looks Like Thisperfectly captures the buzzing static that hits your brain the second you realize you’re not the person your parents expect you to be. A painful, poignant story about choosing compassion over anger.
—Maggie Thrash, author-illustrator of Honor Girl, a Los Angeles Times Book Prize Finalist

The first-person narrative is easy, casual, and calm and indicative of Mike, whose quiet perceptiveness can be misconstrued by outsiders as passivity (no speech marks make the dialogue feel direct and intimate)...A haven of understanding for readers who have felt the foolish lĂ