{"product_id":"ziggy-stardust-and-me-9780525517665","title":"Ziggy, Stardust and Me","description":"\u003cb\u003eIn this tender-hearted debut, set against the tumultuous backdrop of life in 1973, when homosexuality is still considered a mental illness, two boys defy all the odds and fall in love. Now in paperback.\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eThe year is 1973. The Watergate hearings are in full swing. The Vietnam War is still raging. And homosexuality is still officially considered a mental illness. In the midst of these trying times is sixteen-year-old Jonathan Collins, a bullied, anxious, asthmatic kid, who aside from an alcoholic father and his sympathetic neighbor and friend Starla, is completely alone. To cope, Jonathan escapes to the safe haven of his imagination, where his hero David Bowie's Ziggy Stardust and dead relatives, including his mother, guide him through the rough terrain of his life. In his alternate reality, Jonathan can be anything: a superhero, an astronaut, Ziggy Stardust, himself, or completely normal and not a boy who likes other boys. When he completes his treatments, he \u003ci\u003ewill\u003c\/i\u003e be normal--at least he hopes. But before that can happen, Web stumbles into his life. Web is everything Jonathan wishes he could be: fearless, fearsome and, most importantly, not ashamed of being gay. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eJonathan doesn't want to like brooding Web, who has secrets all his own. Jonathan wants nothing more than to be fixed once and for all. But he's drawn to Web anyway. Web is the first person in the real world to see Jonathan completely and think he's perfect. Web is a kind of escape Jonathan has never known. For the first time in his life, he may finally feel free enough to love and accept himself as he is.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eBinding Type:\u003c\/b\u003e Paperback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e G.P. Putnam's Sons Books for Young Readers\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 09\/13\/2022\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN:\u003c\/b\u003e 9780525517665\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 384\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 0.79lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 8.25h x 5.50w x 0.97d","brand":"James Brandon","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":42289563107509,"sku":"9780525517665","price":10.19,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0473\/0804\/6492\/products\/img_49acd526-8cb0-451d-b6bf-a6cd2bac97fb.jpg?v=1658201474","url":"https:\/\/pastforward.org\/products\/ziggy-stardust-and-me-9780525517665","provider":"Past Forward","version":"1.0","type":"link"}