Books by Robin Reardon

Trust. It''s a precious commodity. Nathan Bartlett is looking for someone to trust-someone he can give his heart to, someone he can trust not to drop it. He''s ready to love and be loved. He''s lost so much love already. First his parents, then his adored older brother Neil, and finally the grandmother who''d raised him. All but his enigmatic sister Nina are gone. He''s had his fill of relationships that go nowhere, men who''ve led him astray emotionally and on the mountains he climbs in memory of Neil. Nathan has followed enough trails, from Maine to Hawai''i. It''s time to blaze his own. When he does, it leads him to a man who lives life using a wheelchair, a man whose fall from a mountain means he''ll never hike again. Nathan finds himself on a precipice, and only trust will help him now.

First year of college. A great time to re-invent yourself. Nathan Bartlett takes the opportunity perhaps a little too seriously. And he makes mistakes. Like falling for a straight guy. Like climbing a mountain in a blizzard for all the wrong reasons. But he learns. And he begins to see that it's not the answers that matter. It's the questions.

Jude Connor's rural Idaho hometown is a place of strong values and high expectations. For those who fit into the local church's narrow confines, there's support and fellowship. For those who don't, there's ostracism in this life and damnation in the next.Jude wants desperately to be saved-to believe with the fervor of the charismatic Reverend Amos King, whose sermons are filled with brimstone and righteousness. But every time Jude thinks he's found the right path, there's a fork in the road, and Truth seems to be in a different direction.As much as Jude craves the certainty the church offers, he finds himself at odds with it. Without intentionally rebelling, he befriends Pearl Thornton, considered an unrepentant heathen; he craves the support of Gregory Hart, whose church standing is questionable; and the feelings he has for his friend Tim Olsen make him fear for his own soul. But then Reverend King offers Jude sanctuary, special guidance, and a path into the Light.Will Reverend King be able to help Jude preserve his place in heaven? Or will the reverend's own demons cause hell to swallow them both? The answer lies in Jude's willingness to follow his own path-even if it leads him far from everything he's known.[Previously released as "The Revelations of Jude Connor"]

Micah Jaeger's life is a mess. His folks have split, and his mother is seeing a medium to communicate with Micah's older brother, killed in Afghanistan. He had to change schools for his junior year, which made him retreat further into himself, hiding behind his camera—and hiding that he's gay.One sunny day in June, as he's shooting a dead seagull on the shore of Long Island Sound, a mysterious guy appears in a beautiful sailboat. At first, the guy's boat shoes are the image that stays with Micah. But soon it's the person himself, Walker Donnell, who haunts Micah's dreams.Walker's life looks perfect to Micah. His wealthy parents adore him. He has everything he could want. He's gorgeous and generous. And he falls hard for Micah. But he has a secret: Walker is intersex.The closer Walker and Micah grow, the more Walker feels the need to be sure of himself in ways he hasn't fully faced before, and now it's his turn to retreat. Micah knows Walker is worth waiting for, so he waits. And waits.From the foreword by author Cody Kennedy:Waiting for Walker is a captivating novel from page one. Woven into this story are myriad issues germane to our youth of today: socio-economic disparity, familial loss through military service, divorce, Christian and Muslim dynamics, and a more subtle message, but no less important—being intersex is not a new phenomenon.Intersex people have existed throughout history. At times revered, at times reviled, the treatment of intersex people is profound. It wasn’t until post-World-War-II environs gave way to genuine research that intersex individuals began being viewed as human beings. Still and yet, it wasn’t until 2006 that laws began being enacted in the United States to give intersex individuals rights—human and humane rights—civil liberties that those who are born within the binary genders enjoy from the day they are born. While the United States has come far, there remains a long road ahead and, largely, throughout the world, intersex people have no rights.Walker is a beautiful, confused, vulnerable human being with the tensile strength of steel. Micah is wonderful; down-to-earth with a noir bent, he is an average gay teenager who is falling hopelessly in love with Walker. He is loyal, protective, supportive, and understanding of Walker’s, at times, precarious emotional state. More importantly, Walker and Micah wend their ways through the complicated labyrinth of their relationship to find, in the end, they are meant for each other. Walker’s and Micah’s parents also add a positive message to this story: not all people reject intersex youth.Superb, courageous, and finely tuned to realism, Robin Reardon creates extraordinary characters. She puts Walker boldly and unconditionally forward as an intersex character and shows us but a fraction of what he endures in coming to terms with his sexuality, his sexual identity, and most crucially, who he is determined to be. A master storyteller with a rare talent for grounding stories in everyday reality, Ms. Reardon breathes new life into the fragile notion that we are all equal. She shows us that financial and marital status, religious beliefs, familial loss, and our genetics are only parts of us—that what we say and do speaks to who we are.The elements contained in this story can be polarizing, and I don’t want to give the impression Ms. Reardon minimizes them. The reader clearly understands what Walker has gone through, and goes through, and at times, it is heartrending. But Ms. Reardon doesn’t render Walker with a blunt instrument; she renders him with finesse. This coming-of-age story is one of discovery, love, hope, and healing.

I know God doesn't make mistakes, and if I'm gay it's because that's what he wanted. What you wanted. And I think the challenge is to get everyone else to see that. This is their test, not mine. If only Taylor Adams had kept on lying to his parents, none of this would have happened. He wouldn't have been shipped off to Straight to God, an institution devoted to "deprogramming" troubled teenagers and ridding them of their vices--whether it's drugs, violence, or in Taylor's case, other boys. Not that Taylor has a problem with being gay, or with reconciling his love for God with his love for his boyfriend Will. . . At Straight to God, such thoughts--along with all other reminders of Taylor's former "sinful" life--are forbidden. Every movement is monitored, privacy is impossible, and no one--from staff to residents--is quite who they first appear to be. There's Charles, Taylor's clean-cut roommate, desperate to leave his past behind. . .Nate Devlin, a handsome, inscrutable older boy who's alternately arrogant and kind. . . gorgeous, secretive Sean, who returns to Straight to God each year to avoid doing prison time for drugs. Here, where piety can be a mask for cruelty and the greatest crimes go unpunished, Taylor will learn more than he ever dreamed about love, courage, rebellion, and betrayal--but the most surprising lessons will be the truths he uncovers about himself. In this smart, insightful new novel, Robin Reardon presents a compelling exploration of the journey from boy to man, and a testament to the strength that comes with accepting both who we are, and who we love. . .