Description
Carey Parker dreams of being a diva, and bringing the house down with song. But despite their talent, emotional scars from an incident with a homophobic classmate and their grandmother's spiraling dementia make it harder and harder for Carey to find their voice.
Then Carey meets Cris, a singer/guitarist who makes Carey feel seen for the first time in their life. With the rush of a promising new romantic relationship, Carey finds the confidence to audition for the role of Elphaba, the Wicked Witch of the West in the school musical, setting off a chain reaction of prejudice by Carey's tormentor and others in the school. It's up to Carey, Cris, and their friends to defend their rights—and they refuse to be silenced.
Told in alternating chapters with identifying pronouns, debut author Steven Salvatore's Can't Take That Away is both a romance and an affirmation of self-identity.
A debut novel about a genderqueer teen who finds the courage to stand up and speak out for equality when they are discriminated against by their high school administration.