In an American suburb in the early 1980s, students at a highly competitive performing arts high school struggle and thrive in a rarified bubble, ambitiously pursuing music, movement, and Shakespeare. When freshmen David and Sarah fall headlong into love, their passion does not go unnoticed by anyone, especially not by their charismatic acting teacher, Mr. Kingsley. But in this creative, unconventional National Book Award winner, the simple story is anything but, and a shocking turn of events will resonate in their era and the present.

"[This novel] is fiction that contains multiple truths and lies.... Choi has produced something uncommonly thought-provoking."—NPR