Tell the Wolves I’m Home

In Brunt’s sentimental debut novel, 15-year-old June must come to terms with the death of her beloved uncle Finn, an artist, from AIDS in 1980s New York. As she struggles with his death and her own grief, June secretly befriends her uncle’s mysterious lover, Toby, blamed by her parents for Finn’s death. What begins as a wary relationship between former rivals for Finn’s affection blossoms touchingly. Though June gradually uncovers the conflicts between her mother and uncle, she faces adolescent problems as well (sibling rivalry, boys, parties). A wrenching climax finds June’s family threatening to uncover her secret relationship with the ailing Toby. Though Brunt’s approach to AIDS and homosexuality is bold, her novel is mostly an extended meditation on “all the meanness that could come out of loving someone too much.” The plot is never dull, and the convincing emotional climaxes, while overwrought, are appropriate for a narrator of June’s age. Though the book has young adult–novel qualities, with moral conflicts that resolve themselves too easily and characters nursing hearts of gold, there’s enough ambiguity and subtlety to interest a wider audience. Agent: Mollie Glick, Foundry Literary + Media. (June)