That Summer Night on Frenchmen Street

By Chris Clarkson
Hardcover: $21.95

Set in magical New Orleans, two teens from vastly different worlds discover that sharing their strengths, including the love of their friends and family, may just be the path to finding wholeness within themselves.

Audiobook Edition

Description

Being there for her family is the most important thing to Jessamine Monet. And her family is complicated. Her twin brother Joel has a secret boyfriend, and her transgender cousin Solange is flourishing, despite the disapproval of Solange’s dying mother. Yet Jessamine doesn’t mind being caught up in family drama. Being busy keeps the water at bay — the water of memories, of Katrina, of past trauma. So when Tennessee Williams — a rich white boy named after the writer — asks her out, she hesitantly says yes. He’ll be like a library book, she figures, something to read and return. Falling for him is another burden she can’t afford to carry.

Tennessee has always lived his life at the mercy of his mom’s destructive creativity and his dad’s hypermasculine expectations. Jessamine’s caring and aloof nature is a surprisingly welcome distraction. While she fights her attraction to him, Tennessee is pulled into her inner family circle and develops a friendship with Joel’s boyfriend, Saint Baptiste. Together Saint and Tennessee bond over the difficulty of loving the emotionally unavailable Monet twins.

As senior year progresses, old traumas and familial pressures rise higher than hurricane waves. Can this group of friends make peace with each other, their families, and most importantly, with themselves?

About the Creators

Chris Clarkson

Debut author Chris Clarkson studied English literature at the University of Maryland, where he earned his bachelor's degree. He works during the day as an outreach coordinator, where along with many other responsibilities in this role, he regularly assists with the implementation of diversity initiatives. When he is not writing, Chris spends his time as a wandering local, discovering his muse in coffee shops, street art, and old bookstores. He lives in New Orleans with his dog Avery and a collection of notebooks filled with words for stories waiting to be brought to life. Find him on Twitter at @ChrisWrites3434.

Reviews

  • "A New Orleans love story for these ages."

    - Kirkus Reviews
  • "Clarkson eschews tidy relationships and characterizations in an emotionally extravagant, slowly paced depiction of complex familial circumstances and young love's trials."

    - Publishers Weekly

Hardcover

  • ISBN 9781643795010
  • Publication Date Jun 28, 2022
  • Trim Size 8.25 × 5.5 in
  • Weight 1.3125 lbs
  • Page Count 416
  • Word Count 103338
  • Interests

  • Audience Young Adult
  • BISAC Category 1 YAF / Literary
  • BISAC Category 2 YAF / Romance / Multicultural & Interracial
  • BISAC Category 3 YAF / Family / Parents
  • Themes African / African American / Black, Conflict resolution, Coping with Death, Cultural Diversity, Disabilities, Diversity, Dreams & Aspirations, Empathy / Compassion, Families, Fathers, Fiction, Friendship, Identity / Self Esteem / Confidence, Kindness / Caring, LGBTQIA+, Mothers, Optimism / Enthusiasm, Overcoming Obstacles, Pride, Realistic Fiction, Responsibility, Siblings, Similarities and Differences, Teen Interest, Tolerance / Acceptance, YA interest
  • Reading Levels

  • Age Range Ages 14 - 18
  • Grade Range Grades 9 - 12
  • Guided Reading Z+
  • DRA 80
  • Interest Level Grades 8 - 12
  • Lexile Code HL
  • Lexile Level 520
  • Reading Level Grades 9 - 12
  • Bebop Reading Advanced
  • This Book is Included in These Collections:

    • 31
      Young Adult Collection
      Collection of 31 books: $564.50

      Temporarily unavailable

      This product is currently unavailable.
    • 17
      LGBTQ+ Collection
      Collection of 17 books: $283.15

      412 in stock

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