When Haru Was Here

Eric Ly is still grieving Daniel, the best friend he loved for years. Then a boy from one afternoon in Japan turns up in a Chicago coffee shop and sits down beside him. Haru Tanaka is real only to Eric. Nobody else in the shop can see him, hear him, or explain how he got there.

For a queer Vietnamese American new graduate, that feels like a second chance nobody else can give him. He is carrying more grief than he lets on. The two pick up where one summer in Japan left off. For the first time since the funeral, Eric feels like someone besides Daniel actually sees him.

The longer Haru stays, the harder it gets to say what he actually is: a ghost, a memory, or something Eric invented to survive the year. Slowly, Eric starts choosing Haru over his own family. The people trying to help him grieve start slipping away instead.

This is a quiet young adult romance, and the fantastical stays subtle instead of showy. At its center is a same-sex, second-chance romance. It is Dustin Thao's second novel, after You've Reached Sam. It takes its time: a slow, emotional read that lets grief sit instead of rushing past it.