Pushcart Prize-nominated poet, Max Fischer delivers a raw, lyrical, and heart-shattering novel-in-verse, The Unpoetic Life of August Grey, about grief, first love, and the joy of becoming who you are.

You can only hold your breath underwater for three minutes before you go unconscious. For seventeen-year-old August Grey, life in his small Nebraska town has felt like that endless third minute ever since his best friend Waylon died.

When August earns a coveted spot at a prestigious summer writing program in New York, he believes it's his one chance to heal—and to keep the promise made to Waylon to pursue his dream. But New York brings its own challenges: a strained reunion with an estranged father, the weight of trying to write without Waylon there, and the unexpected arrival of Levi, August's old crush who knows nothing of his failed coming out.

As August wrestles with grief, secrets, and the tentative spark of new love, he must decide if he can finally surface—embracing his queer identity and the joy of being himself before the past threatens to drown his future.

In the tradition of The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo, I Wish You All the Best by Mason Deaver, and Me (Moth) by Amber McBride, Pushcart Prize-nominated poet Max Fischer delivers a searing, unforgettable debut about loss, queer joy, and the strength it takes to breathe again.