Solo Stan - Hardcover

Tucker, Talia

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0593624785 ISBN 13: 9780593624784

Verlag: Penguin Young Readers, 2025

Inhaltsangabe

A queer YA romance about two solo concertgoers and unwitting seatmates who, when the show is abruptly cut short, embark on an unforgettable North Carolina summer night together, for fans of Nick and Nora's Infinite Playlist.

“These two boys will have your entire heart.”
—Sonora Reyes, , bestselling author of the National Book Award Finalist The Lesbiana's Guide to Catholic School

Dakarai (Kai) Barbier was supposed to be at CYPHR’s sold-out show with his best friends. Instead, he finds himself going solo, reeling from the news that they’ve decided to accelerate the next chapter of their lives, leaving him alone the summer after high school graduation.

Meanwhile, Elias Davis has just been sent from New York City to North Carolina to live with his uncle after a last-straw fistfight. Stuck in a town he doesn’t want to be in, and without knowing a soul his own age, he buys a single ticket to CYPHR’s Raleigh show.

When a sudden blackout ends the show early, forcing these unwitting seatmates back onto the streets of Raleigh, they are faced with a choice: get on the bus and head home or take a chance on each other.

They might have arrived alone, but will they be leaving together?

Über diesen Titel

Über die Autorin bzw. den Autor

Talia Tucker lives and writes in New Jersey. She has a BA in communication from Rutgers University and an MA in liberal studies from Loyola University Maryland. She loves mindless comedies and twisty slow-burn dramas, both of which inspire her writing, as does her connection to her Korean and Jamaican communities. Rules for Rule Breaking was her YA debut.

Auszug. © Genehmigter Nachdruck. Alle Rechte vorbehalten.

1

KAI

Dakarai had always been curious about what it would be like to date himself and why no one else ever seemed to want to. As he stood outside a bright yellow retro theater flowerless, slightly hungry, and having opened all his own doors that evening, he couldn’t say he recommended it.

Dakarai, or Kai as he preferred, bit the inside of his lip, and his throat felt dry as he looked up at the marquee:

THE HERITAGE PLAYHOUSE PRESENTS
CYPHR
SOLD OUT

Excited concertgoers filed in below, illuminated by the glittering Hollywood bulbs of the theater’s entrance, all dressed well enough to take the stage themselves.

As Kai joined them, he suddenly had the air knocked from his lungs by someone going against the current.

“You need tickets?” the someone asked in lieu of an apology.

Kai raised an eyebrow at the scalper.

Tickets weren’t his problem—­he’d started with four: for him; his best friend, Bobby; Bobby’s girlfriend, Winter; and Winter’s best friend, Emmy. He’d purchased them online and not from a guy in a trench coat, like Kai’s father said he used to do in “the good ol’ days.” But now Kai only needed one after his friends had informed him that they would no longer be in town for the concert—­or, in fact, the entire summer.

“You selling better friends?” Kai muttered to the scalper, brushing himself off, though it was unlikely that replacements for the three traitors could fit up the grifter’s sleeve.

Bypassing the line into the theater, the tech-­averse Kai flashed his paper ticket, the only one in a sea of scannable digital tickets. The red-­carpeted stairs led him to a cozy, dimly lit area. He found his seat, number twelve in the front row, and settled in. Seat eleven next to him remained empty.

Another solo attendee, perhaps? he thought.

As the rest of the theater lights flickered, signaling that the concert was about to start, the openers—­two female rappers who had recently gone viral on TikTok—­charged from backstage and launched into their performance without introduction. The audience swelled as the crowd rose to their feet and screamed their throats raw. Kai rose as well, unconcerned that his six-­foot-­five frame would ruin the experience of those behind him. He had, after all, paid just like anyone else. And it seemed that his friends, his new coworker at the bookstore, and perhaps the entire universe, were all trying to ruin his last summer before college. He was determined to have fun, even if it was purely out of spite. In fact, he wished there was a spotlight on him right then so everyone could see just how happy he was to be alone at the show. This was a new season of Kai. A reboot. It was solo summer. Selfish summer. The summer of Dakarai.

Any inhibitions he had left were gone when CYPHR walked out onto the stage, leather pants clinging to his slender frame, a white tank top stretched out around his neck, exposing several tattoos scattered across his chest and down both arms. He had well-­defined features and expressive large brown eyes that were hooded by a heavy brow line. When CYPHR looked up, Kai could finally see his face clearly on the screen that backlit his form.

“Who in here knows a little band called EZF? If you’re a Dropout, make some noise!” CYPHR yelled into the mic. The crowd roared. Then CYPHR put his fingers to his lips, and everyone instantly hushed. Teachers wished they could have this power. CYPHR continued in a softer tone, “Now, who in here has no idea what I’m talking about and came here just for me?”

The small venue became one loud scream.

CYPHR made a winding gesture in the air, a signal to his band. When Kai’s favorite song started, his indignant determination to have fun gave way to genuine enjoyment. Making use of the empty space next to him, he danced and sang out of tune with everyone else.

If we kiss once, we can’t take it back

But if we kiss this once, I can kiss you again

Let’s make another mistake

The first mistake is already made

Preoccupied, Kai didn’t notice that someone had come down his row until they were almost in front of him. Their face was hidden beneath a black bucket cap, and the stage backlit them in a way that darkened their features. This was the person who had bought seat eleven from him only hours ago. Kai was intrigued yet slightly disappointed as he anticipated having to shrink his range of motion—­and therefore the sincere pleasure he had finally found being alone.

Before Seat Eleven could sit, an amp blew out, releasing a feedback loop that pierced through the theater and caused everyone to collectively clap their hands over their ears. Startled, Seat Eleven stumbled on a purse on the ground, and Kai instinctively reached out, catching them by the arm before they fell over the loge-­level balcony. The screech ceased as quickly as it had punctuated the air, and Kai’s focus shifted entirely to the stranger’s chipped black nails digging into his skin, the electricity of the moment passing back and forth between them within the conduit of their touch.

As though irritated that they had just been saved from having accidental floor seats, the stranger brusquely pushed Kai away, waking him up to the commotion surrounding them.

Kai was unaware of what his body was doing. He wasn’t even sure if he was breathing. But if he’d been smiling, it dropped right off his face the moment Seat Eleven finally looked up so Kai could see who was under the bucket cap.

The person he saw was striking, sharp and pristine, as if cut into existence with a blade. They turned their head to the side, clearly embarrassed, revealing an angular jaw that seemed unaccustomed to smiling.

Kai’s mind went blank as the ringing persisted in his ears. All he could manage to say was “What the fuck?”


2

ELIAS

One Week Ago

Elias was lying on his bed, flat on his face, wondering if staying there any longer would cause him to dematerialize and fall through the mattress. It was a hot, humid day in New York City, and there was no part of his body that wanted to move even a millimeter. The open windows teased him; the air outside was just as hot, like a warm breath from the underbelly of the city.

Elias cast his gaze to the other side of the room at a neatly made bed. It’d been unslept in for the past few weeks.

This was the extent of his post–­high school plan. He thought that maybe he and his twin brother would try to start a business together, or perhaps move somewhere with turquoise beaches and fewer people. The two of them had been in New York all their lives and had always talked about seeing more of the world. William­ decided to see the world without him by way of the US Navy. They’d written to each other as often as they could, but the letters abruptly stopped one day. The last one read:

Hey Eli,
Hope you’re good. Miss you. But I got to say, your last letter stung. Mom and Dad are going to do what they’re going to do, and Nia’s not a kid anymore. Maybe things weren’t like this before, but now it feels like you’re the one needing us more than we need you. I didn’t abandon the family. I found a place for myself over here. Maybe it’s your turn to do the same. You’re a few minutes older than I am, but you’re not my big brother.
—William

Sliding the...

Details zur Ausgabe

• Verlag: Penguin Young Readers
• Erscheinungsdatum: 2025
• Sprache: Englisch
• ISBN 10: 0593624785
• ISBN 13: 9780593624784
• Einband: Gebundene Ausgabe
• Anzahl der Seiten: 224
• Kontakt zum Hersteller: Nicht verfügbar
• Verantwortliche Person: gpsr@libri.de; gpsr@libri.de; ; Europaallee 1; Bad Hersfeld; 36244; Deutschland