"Destination Unknown is for everyone who has ever been made to feel ashamed of their identity, anyone who has ever been told that their lives are less meaningful because of who they are.”
It’s been amazing to see the number of books being written over the last few years about coming to terms with your sexuality in the early days of the AIDS epidemic. Each of these books has touched me in many ways, but few have spoken to me the way that Bill Konigsberg did with Destination Unknown.
It’s 1987. Micah is gay but only his best friend Deena knows. One night they’re at a dance club and Micah spots a beautiful young man wearing a plexiglass bra. He is C.J., and Micah is both attracted to him and envies him for the freedom he has in being himself, everyone else be damned.
That moment launches them into a friendship, one that is at times flirtatious and at times protective. Micah is trying to find the courage to come out of the closet, but more than that, he’s deathly afraid of getting AIDS. He’s not even sure how you can get it. At the same time, he realizes the confidence and bravado C.J. walks through life with isn’t always genuine, and covers up fear, hurt, and loneliness.
This is such a beautifully written, emotional, evocative book. I remember being so much like Micah in so many ways, desperate to be “the real me” but so afraid of what that might entail. Konigsberg captures this time period so well, I almost felt my collar popping and smelled the excessive amount of cologne I used to wear.
I absolutely loved and was moved by this. Thanks to Pride Book Tours and Scholastic for inviting me on the tour for this book, and providing a complimentary copy.
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