First Time for Everything

Fry debuts with a tender and funny story of a white gay man shedding his repression. Twenty-seven-year-old Londoner Danny Scudd’s life has fallen apart. His first boyfriend dumps him following an STI scare, an episode that reveals Danny was wrong to believe their relationship was monogamous; his roommates kick him out; and his job with a clickbait app crushes his aspirations to be a “serious journalist.” He moves in with his childhood best friend, Jacob, a Black nonbinary performance artist, and his foray into therapy uncorks big feelings, leading to a series of questionable hookups. He’s photographed while at a die-in for gay rights in Chechnya, an episode which results in him becoming a meme. Back home, he reports his boss, Stan, for having sex with a coworker at the office, getting Stan fired and himself promoted. He then tries to leverage his moment of internet fame for his company’s success, alienating Jacob in the process. As Danny weathers one wild episode after another, Fry leavens moments of despair with acid humor (“Afterward, people will say I died as I lived: slow as fuck and constantly breaking down,” Danny reflects as he stares ominously at train tracks). Throughout, this effervescent chronicle rings true. Agent: Haley Steed, Madeleine Milburn Literary Agency. (May)