Jason Reynolds Pens Romance Novel: Twenty-Four Seconds From Now. . .

I wanted to show that, specifically in this particular case, lil’ Black boys are tender and kind and they’re sweethearts. Like I think we get adultified very quickly. Young Black men and young Black ladies, young Black girls…People don’t realize that we’re not as full as machismo that everybody thinks. That anybody who has young boys around them knows that they’re cupcakes. That they’re actually these sweethearts who have to put on certain fronts in order to navigate
their environments.

—Jason Reynolds on CBS Mornings 

Earlier this week, master young adult storyteller Jason Reynolds dropped another buzz-worthy book and “first romance” novel ☛TWENTY-FOUR SECONDS FROM NOW…  [pub: Atheneum/Caitlyn Dlouhy Books]. The multiple Coretta Scott King honors recipient made multiple media appearances promoting the “sweetly hilarious story of two Black teens preparing to take a huge first step in their relationship.” Check out a few of my faves below.

A present-day Judy Blume’s Forever, this novel has been set up by its author to become a modern classic.

—School Library Journal

Jason Reynolds Discusses Twenty-Four Seconds From Now… On CBS Mornings 

Boys, as the narrators of love stories, is so rare. The idea that boys have complex interior lives, specifically as it revolves around sex and the loss of virginity – I feel like that’s something that’s overlooked and is dismissed.

—Jason Reynolds On NPR 

The New York Times Bestselling Author On The Daily Show 

Twenty-Four Seconds from Now. . . Synopsis From Simon & Schuster:

Twenty-four months ago: Neon gets chased by a dog all around the parking lot of a church. Not his finest moment. And definitely one he would have loved to forget if it weren’t for the dog’s owner: Aria. Dressed in sweats, a t-shirt, hair in a ponytail. Aria. Way more than fine.

Twenty-four weeks ago: Neon’s dad insists on talking to him about tenderness and intimacy. Neon and Aria are definitely in love, and while they haven’t taken that next big step…yet, they’ve starting talking about…that.

Twenty-four days ago: Neon’s mom finds her—gulp—bra in his room. Hey! No judging! Those hook thingies are complicated! So he’d figured he’d better practice, what with the big day only a month away.

Twenty-four minutes ago: Neon leaves his shift at work at his dad’s bingo hall, making sure to bring some chicken tenders for Aria. They’re not candlelight and they definitely aren’t caviar, but they are her favorite.

And right this second? Neon is locked in Aria’s bathroom, completely freaking out because twenty-four seconds from now he and Aria are about to…about to… Well, they won’t do anything if he can’t get out of his own head (all the advice, insecurities, and what ifs) and out of this bathroom!

Peace, Love, & Beauty,