Thomas and Niko in the City of Trees

If you're thinking this is just another book about a young man who falls in love with his best friend: look closer. Niko Savic's gripping personal story is told through his own voice—a rare mix of honesty, crudeness and intelligence that opens a compelling window into late adolescence. Caught in the final weeks of senior year in a modest, sweltering northwestern city, he's dating a girl who is by all accounts perfect for him. ...And yet, he can't keep his eyes off his childhood best friend, Thomas Chu. The tension between friends, captured in moments as real as the world before us, builds slowly to a dramatic, inevitable breaking point. Along the way, Niko's observations about life are funny at times, painful and tragic at others. Through it all, he's eager to know what the future holds. Most of all, what will become of the relationship he shares with the most important person in his life?