Holding Up the Sky by Rebecca Alasdair

A closeted Australian teen learns that there are some things love alone can’t conquer in this novel for fans of Heartstopper, Adam Silvera, and Sophie Gonzales. Everyone knows Carter Cantwell: brainiac, music nerd, school captain. Total overachiever. What no one knows about him: all of it is a sham. The real Carter is an anxious mess still drowning in grief after tragedy ripped his family apart. He’s just gotten good at pretending. Then he meets Remy. Brazen, charming, and everything he’s not, Remy blazes into Carter’s orderly world and turns his defences to ash. But as Carter juggles new responsibilities at school, old troubles at home, and this boy he can’t seem to stay away from, he starts cracking under the pressure. With his secrets leaking out and all that he’s worked for falling apart in his hands, Carter faces the hardest choice of his life: succumb to his demons, or fight for the future he never knew he wanted. But when you’re lost in the dark, how do you find your way back?