We Are Totally Normal: A Queer Contemporary YA Novel for Fans of Becky Albertalli About a Perfect Plan and an Unexpected Hookup

In this queer contemporary YA, perfect for fans of Becky Albertalli and This Is Kind of an Epic Love Story, Nandan’s perfect plan for junior year goes awry after he hooks up with a guy for the first time.

Nandan’s got a plan to make his junior year perfect, but hooking up with his friend Dave isn’t part of it—especially because Nandan has never been into guys.

Still, Nandan’s willing to give a relationship with him a shot. But the more his anxiety grows about what his sexuality means for himself, his friends, and his social life, the more he wonders whether he can just take it all back.

Is breaking up with Dave—the only person who’s ever really gotten him—worth feeling “normal” again?

• Questioning Sexuality: One unexpected hookup sends Nandan spiraling, forcing him to question everything he thought he knew about himself and who he’s attracted to.
• Bisexual Discovery: This isn’t a simple coming-out story. It’s a messy, awkward, and funny exploration of what it feels like to realize you might not be 100% straight after all.
• First Time Experience: What happens after a first kiss with a guy you thought was just your friend? Nandan and Dave have to figure out if they can be something more without losing the only person who truly understands them.
• Indian-American Protagonist: Follows Nandan as he navigates high school social hierarchies, intense peer pressure, and his own evolving identity with a fresh and relatable voice.

Naomi Kanakia's novels include We Are Totally Normal and Enter Title Here. Additionally, her stories have appeared in Asimov’s Science Fiction, Clarkesworld, Fantasy & Science Fiction, Lightspeed, Indiana Review, and Nature. She has received fellowships from the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts and the Lambda Literary Foundation. Originally from Washington, DC, Naomi now lives in San Francisco.