My Most Excellent Year
By Steve Kluger

What does Fenway Park, finding first love, and Mary Poppins have in common? The most excellent year for freshmen students T.C. Keller, Augie Hwong, and Alejandra Perez. There are three loves in T.C.’s life; his dad, his best friend and unofficial brother Augie who he met shortly after his mother died when he was six, and the Red Sox. But during freshmen year he begins falling in love with Alejandra. Though Alejandra plays hard to get, she also begins falling in love with T.C.’s Boston accent while pursuing her interest in singing and dancing (which gets her a part in the school’s play of Kiss Me, Kate) under her political parents’ noses. Due to his love of musicals and old school screen sirens, and his preference to perform the songs traditionally sung by women, everyone close to Augie seems to know he is gay, except for Augie. That is until he begins falling in love with Andy, who may or may not have the same feelings for Augie. The majority of the story is told through a diary assignment as T.C., Augie, and Alejandra study The Diary of Anne Frank in their freshmen English class. Similar to how Frank named her diary Kitty, T.C. addresses his entries to his dead mother, Alejandra to her role model Jacqueline Kennedy, and Augie writes to several “Divas of the Week” including Liza Minnelli, Angela Lansbury, and Judy Garland among others. Incorporated throughout the entries are IM messages between T.C., Augie, Alejandra, and Andy, e-mails from and between characters, transcripts of T.C.’s meeting with his school advisor, notes passed during study hall, and Augie’s mother’s theatre review column from the Boston Globe. This charming, funny story will be enjoyed by its target audience as well as an adult audience.