A Different Kind of Brave

"Thrilling. Positively thrilling." —Kirkus Reviews

Nicolas “Nico” Hall is sixteen when he escapes from Dr. H’s religious gay reprogramming institute in California. On his own, he assumes one identity after another to avoid recapture as he flees south to Peru and then to Mexico.

Seven days older than Nico, Samuel “Sam” Jonas Solomon is a privileged Upper West Side only child who idolizes James Bond. When his heart is broken, he vows that, like Bond, he’s never going to trust in love again. Then he meets Nico, and his heart won’t listen to any logic.

Nico’s survived by living only for himself—until his love for Sam has him risking his freedom for others. Together, Nico and Sam set out to free the other teens trapped in Dr. H’s Institute, plunging readers into perils, drama, and a long‑shot chance at love.

To succeed, they’ll both have to be A Different Kind of Brave.

Lee Wind is not currently a spy, but he did spend fourteen years undercover (what most people call “in the closet”). Today he writes the books that would have changed his life as a young Gay Jewish kid. He is the author of the nonfiction Junior Library Guild Gold Standard selection No Way, They Were Gay? and the novel Publishers Weekly named a top five independently published young adult book of 2018, Queer as a Five-Dollar Bill. He also runs the popular blog I’m Here. I’m Queer. What the Hell Do I Read?—words his teenage self only dreamed of saying. Lee lives in Los Angeles with his husband of more than twenty-five years, and they have a grown daughter. Visit Lee online at leewind.org.