by Sim Kern
First published 2020
A massive hurricane tears through Houston, forcing Noah Mishner to evacuate to the Dallas Mavericks arena. The basketball stadium becomes a makeshift refuge where Noah connects with other queer survivors. But Noah worries about his safety as a trans Jewish man among some of the other displaced Texans. Strange visions begin plaguing him. His great-grandfather Abe appears as a ghostly presence, the same ancestor who escaped Nazi Germany as a child. The shelter grows more dangerous as the climate emergency worsens and resources run thin. Abe's spirit becomes stronger and more insistent. Noah faces an impossible choice. He must decide if he can rely on his ancestor's guidance. More critically, he must determine whether survival requires abandoning the identity and chosen family that define him.
Genres: fiction, contemporary, magical-realism, 21st-century, lgbt, apocalyptic
Vibes: atmospheric, emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: found-family, ghost, survival
Setting: Dallas, Houston, Texas
Period: 21st-century
88 pages · Paperback · Stelliform Press
Content warnings: anxiety, depression, mental-illness