My Government Means to Kill Me -- Rasheed Newson, Hardcover

MOST ANTICIPATED BOOK OF 2022 by The New York Times, Bustle, Goodreads, The Boston Globe, LitHub, and more!

A fierce and riveting queer coming-of-age story following the personal and political awakening of a young gay Black man in 1980s New York City, from the television drama writer and producer of The Chi, Narcos, and Bel-Air

This book is a truly unique queer coming-of-age novel. --Buzzfeed

"Full of joy and righteous anger, sex and straight talk, brilliant storytelling and humor, Rasheed Newson's debut novel has given us the story of Trey, set against the history of 80s queer Black New York, AIDS, and the movements that changed the era. A spectacularly researched Dickensian tale with vibrant characters and dozens of famous cameos, it is precisely the book we've needed for a long time. That--and a rollicking read! What more could you want?" --Andrew Sean Greer, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Less

Born into a wealthy Black Indianapolis family, Earl "Trey" Singleton III leaves his overbearing parents and their expectations behind by running away to New York City with only a few dollars in his pocket. In the city, Trey meets up with a cast of characters that changes his life forever. He volunteers at a renegade home hospice for AIDS patients, and after being put to the test by gay rights activists, becomes a member of the AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power (ACT UP). Along the way Trey attempts to navigate past traumas and searches for ways to maintain familial relationships--all while seeking the meaning of life amid so much death.

Vibrant, humorous, and fraught with entanglements, Rasheed Newson's My Government Means to Kill Me is an exhilarating, fast-paced coming-of-age story that lends itself to a larger discussion about what it means for a young gay Black man in the mid-1980s to come to terms with his role in the midst of a political and social reckoning.

Author: Rasheed Newson
Publisher: Flatiron Books
Published: 08/23/2022
Pages: 288
Binding Type: Hardcover
Weight: 1.01lbs
Size: 9.44h x 6.54w x 0.93d
ISBN: 9781250833525

Review Citation(s):
Library Journal Prepub Alert 03/01/2022 pg. 7
Publishers Weekly 06/13/2022
Library Journal 08/01/2022 pg. 91
Kirkus Reviews 08/15/2022