What Happened To Lani Garver by Carol Plum-UcciLani Garver met open hostility when he enrolled at Coast Regional High School. Actually, Claire's not sure that Lani is a he. Macy went up and asked Lani if he was a girl, and he said no, but he never actually said he was a guy. Claire thinks of him as one, though, and so does the rest of Coast Regional. They take him for a gay guy, and nobody around Coast Regional is really friendly to gay guys. Especially not ones who dress like girls. But when Claire faints in a coffee shop, Lani is there for her. He listens to her problems, and Claire can't fall into the homophobic trap her peers are setting.
Lani helps Claire to face the problems in her life, which include leukemia (in remission), an alcoholic mother, and an eating disorder. At the free clinic Lani takes her to, the doctor tells her about angels. The doctor says that angels are androgynous, and Claire begins to wonder if Lani is an angel. Claire is with Lani through the gay bashing done by her friends, ending with the dissapearance, maybe murder, of Lani Garver.
Disquieting reading.
