This Is Why They Hate Us

Enrique "Quique" Luna is a high school senior in Los Angeles with a plan for the summer: stop pining for his best friend Saleem Kanazi by pursuing other boys. Saleem is good, kind and beautiful, and he is about to leave town to spend the summer with a girl his parents want him to date.

Quique has obstacles. Only his best friend Fabiola knows he is bisexual, and he admits he has no game with anyone. Still, he has three prospects. Tyler Montana is a stoner jock who may be as curious about Fabiola as about Quique. Ziggy Jackson is the straitlaced senior class president. Manny Zuniga keeps giving Quique long, hungry looks.

This is a contemporary young adult romance with a comic, chaotic tone and a summer setting. It follows one teenager's attempts to date his way past a crush, told with a light touch and plenty of awkward humor.

As the weeks get hotter, Quique's deep fears and anxieties start to surface. His scheme begins to look like a poor one, and being honest about who he is turns out to carry real costs. The mood is playful at the start and grows more serious as the summer goes on.