I want to let her know that choosing something is the entire problem. How do you choose something without feeling the undeniable loss of everything you rejected?

Max is about to finish high school. On the surface it appears he has everything, but underneath he is floundering. Grappling with questions about his birth parents and his sexuality, he feels that there is a seed of badness deep within him that will inevitably be exposed.

After an incident at the end-of-year party sets Max's world to crumbling, he must finally figure out who he is and where he came from - and who he is allowed to love.

Max is a vivid and insightful coming-of-age novel about the ways we weave the threads of our adolescent identities into a cohesive adult self.

Review: 'A vivid, heartfelt and emotionally astute story about a young man's search for himself. I was with Max all the way.' -Emily Perkins

'Tender, sharp and real. Max is a sensitive exploration of the passion and turmoil of youth.' -Carrie Tiffany


'[Max] balances confinement with soaring moments of freedom and is both heart-wrenching and hopeful'. - Kete