The Story
"A swoon worthy romance wrapped in courage, solidarity, and queer happiness!"--Mason Deaver, bestselling author of I Wish You All the Best
Unionizing his job wasn't on Eli Goldstein's summer bucket list--but neither was falling for his irritatingly self-righteous and handsome school rival. Sparks fly on the picket line in this hilarious, coming-of-age rom-com that's perfect for fans of Jason June, Page Powars, and A.M. Woody!
All's fair in love and solidarity...
Eli Goldstein might be the only teenager looking forward to earning minimum wage at his objectively terrible summer job. Not only will he be working at the kitschy roadside museum he loves, he'll finally have the down payment for his top surgery with a first-class surgeon.
But the museum really is a late-stage capitalist hellscape, and Eli's co-workers--led by his irritatingly self-righteous and annoyingly attractive school rival, Efraín--plan to unionize. With his sanity and safety at risk on the job, Eli knows he has to join their campaign.
If he and Efraín can stop bickering long enough to keep their ragtag union together, they might actually have a shot. But when management begins to grow suspicious, Eli will have to make a choice: Is he willing to stand in solidarity with his friends and the boy he's starting to fall for, even if it means risking his job and the key to his life-changing surgery?
Author: Jasper Sanchez
Publisher: HarperCollins
Published: 05/26/2026
Pages: 432
Binding Type: Hardcover
Weight: 1.19lbs
Size: 8.36h x 5.52w x 1.51d
ISBN: 9780063025820
Audience: Young Adult
Review Citation(s):
School Library Journal 04/03/2026 pg. 1
Kirkus Reviews 04/15/2026
Booklist 05/01/2026
About the Author
Sanchez, Jasper: - Jasper Sanchez is the author of The (Un)Popular Vote, a Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection. He earned his BA in anthropology from the University of Pennsylvania and his MA in cinema and media studies from UCLA. While neither degree prepared him for the neoliberal hellscape of late-stage capitalism, they did push him to join the IWW as a red card-carrying Wobbly. He is a Californian by birth, disposition, and more recently, choice. When he's not writing, he can be found kvetching about capitalism and conversing with his cat. You can visit him online at www.jaspersanchez.com.
Description
"A swoon worthy romance wrapped in courage, solidarity, and queer happiness!"--Mason Deaver, bestselling author of I Wish You All the Best
Unionizing his job wasn't on Eli Goldstein's summer bucket list--but neither was falling for his irritatingly self-righteous and handsome school rival. Sparks fly on the picket line in this hilarious, coming-of-age rom-com that's perfect for fans of Jason June, Page Powars, and A.M. Woody!
All's fair in love and solidarity...
Eli Goldstein might be the only teenager looking forward to earning minimum wage at his objectively terrible summer job. Not only will he be working at the kitschy roadside museum he loves, he'll finally have the down payment for his top surgery with a first-class surgeon.
But the museum really is a late-stage capitalist hellscape, and Eli's co-workers--led by his irritatingly self-righteous and annoyingly attractive school rival, Efraín--plan to unionize. With his sanity and safety at risk on the job, Eli knows he has to join their campaign.
If he and Efraín can stop bickering long enough to keep their ragtag union together, they might actually have a shot. But when management begins to grow suspicious, Eli will have to make a choice: Is he willing to stand in solidarity with his friends and the boy he's starting to fall for, even if it means risking his job and the key to his life-changing surgery?
Author: Jasper Sanchez
Publisher: HarperCollins
Published: 05/26/2026
Pages: 432
Binding Type: Hardcover
Weight: 1.19lbs
Size: 8.36h x 5.52w x 1.51d
ISBN: 9780063025820
Audience: Young Adult
Review Citation(s):
School Library Journal 04/03/2026 pg. 1
Kirkus Reviews 04/15/2026
Booklist 05/01/2026
About the Author
Sanchez, Jasper: - Jasper Sanchez is the author of The (Un)Popular Vote, a Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection. He earned his BA in anthropology from the University of Pennsylvania and his MA in cinema and media studies from UCLA. While neither degree prepared him for the neoliberal hellscape of late-stage capitalism, they did push him to join the IWW as a red card-carrying Wobbly. He is a Californian by birth, disposition, and more recently, choice. When he's not writing, he can be found kvetching about capitalism and conversing with his cat. You can visit him online at www.jaspersanchez.com.
