This month we’re bringing you Max, a coming-of-age novel by New Zealand author Avi Duckor-Jones. In this story we follow Max, a young man grappling with his sexuality and identity in the wake of his final months of high school. Featuring a charismatic best friend Fletch, the nostalgia of dial-up internet, chat rooms and Radiohead, Max will take you on a journey across New Zealand to ensure a young boy finds belonging and acceptance.

Duckor-Jones has worked as a writing instructor and trip leader for National Geographic, directed a school in Ghana and, yes, even won the reality TV competition Survivor New Zealand in 2017. We’re traversing New Zealand’s majestic landscape in Max, and what better storyteller to be holding the pen.

For fans of Craig Silvey and Trent Dalton, this one will tug at your heartstrings and make you reach out to every young queer navigating this complex world for a warm hug. We inhaled this one, and still think about it tenderly. We hope you do too.