Communion

By Mel Donalson

Set in the late 1980s, the novel follows the protagonist Tony Marcos, a Gay teen who runs away from his crumbling home to make his life in Hollywood, California. As he hustles on the boulevard, he develops a makeshift family of friends-some in their teens, some in their 30s and 40s, but all seeking purpose and love. Working the streets and intersecting with his friends at their favorite hangout-the Concrete Café-Tony believes he's found his version of paradise. But many circumstances-robbery, gay-bashing, HIV, greed, and murder-peel away his ideal world, exposing the real world that he must survive. In a complex and powerful novel of multiethnic characters, Communion is a poignant, emotionally charged story about personal struggling, renewal, and transformation-a true celebration of life.