Book Review: Like a Love Story by Abdi Nazemian

A Time Magazine Best YA Book of all time, Like a Love Story by Abdi Nazemian is set in late-80s and early 90s New York City during the height of the HIV pandemic. In this queer coming-of-age novel, three teenagers are at the centre of the story; Reza is an Iranian boy (reflecting some of the author’s own experiences) who has just moved to the city. His enduring image of a gay life is men dying of AIDS and he is terrified.

Art meanwhile is out and proud, he will never fit the ideals of his conservative parents so he rebels by joining ACT UP, protesting, and capturing the LGBTQ+ community and the AIDS crisis through his photography. Then, there’s his best friend Judy, a fashion designer whose beloved Uncle Stephen (Art’s spiritual father) is HIV positive and an activist dedicated to ACT UP.

Like a Love Story by Abdi Nazemian

 “The most important four-letter word in our history will always be LOVE. That’s what we are fighting for. That’s who we are. Love is our legacy.”

The story is told through the eyes of these three young people who, in alternating chapters, navigate a world that is against them and their community. While the group’s gay guardian, Stephen, does not have any chapters of his own, his life and story is very much told through his interactions and guidance of the teenagers in his life. His presence is also seen through the queer notecards on icons, camp movies, activists, culture and more that he has written to pass information on to the next generation; much in the same way that novels such as this pass our histories to the next generation.

Despite being YA fiction, this Stonewall Honor book is a universal story for the LGBTQ+ community for whom chosen family and fighting for our rights is pivotal. Like a Love Story reflects a history of marginalisation and neglect that is imperative we push back against in our modern era where the same narratives are being used against our trans siblings.

“If you show them that you’re divided, creating change will be close to impossible. They’ll just play you against each other.”

Like a Love Story is a moving, heart-breakingly raw and yet it is a love letter to queerness. With a fantastically Madonna-heavy soundtrack, the novel is a tale of family, friendship, romance, heartbreak, loss, grief, and ultimately hope driven by love, community and connection.

Full of nuanced and flawed but likeable characters, Like a Love Story delves into depths of emotion. It has a darkly witty humour which mimics the way queer people cope with trauma and hate; an ability to “laugh through their anger, to find light even in injustice.” It doesn’t shy away from the very-real fear of the time but is also a reminder of hope and faith for a better future; a reminder to live your life to its truest and most authentic, no matter what.

Much like Art’s photos, this beautifully written book captures our shared history, ensuring that the stories and lives of those who came before, who fought for us will not be forgotten. By honouring the activists of our past, this novel shows us we can only move forward by reflecting on and learning from history.

“Our history. Who we are. They won’t teach it in schools. They don’t want us to have a history. They don’t see us… You have to make them see. You have to remember it. And share it… Time passes, and people forget. Don’t let them.”