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Christopher’s Year In Books

Christopher’s 2025 Year in Books

Take a look at Christopher’s Year in Books, including some fun facts about their reading.

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Leonardo N. Greco

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Christopher Stanton

Goodreads Author

Website

https://www.christopher-stanton.com

Genre

Fiction, Graphic Novels, Horror

Influences

Raymond Carver, Larry Brown and Willy Vlautin.

Member Since

August 2013

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Christopher Stanton is a creative writer and artist from Columbus, OH who lives and works in Los Angeles. He received a BFA in Dramatic Writing from New York University and an MFA in Screenwriting from the University of Southern California. He was a teenager throughout the 1980s and thrives on exploring how the popular culture of the decade affects the lives of his characters.

Stanton created the graphic novel Nick Pope, illustrated by the late Christopher Darling. It's the illustrated diary of a high school sophomore in 1987 who struggles with depression, bullying and low self-esteem, brought on by prominent birthmarks around both of his eyes. Nick draws to try to make sense of his chaotic world as he realizes that he might be gay.

The book Christopher Stanton is a creative writer and artist from Columbus, OH who lives and works in Los Angeles. He received a BFA in Dramatic Writing from New York University and an MFA in Screenwriting from the University of Southern California. He was a teenager throughout the 1980s and thrives on exploring how the popular culture of the decade affects the lives of his characters.

Stanton created the graphic novel Nick Pope, illustrated by the late Christopher Darling. It's the illustrated diary of a high school sophomore in 1987 who struggles with depression, bullying and low self-esteem, brought on by prominent birthmarks around both of his eyes. Nick draws to try to make sense of his chaotic world as he realizes that he might be gay.

The book is on the shelves at more than forty libraries across the United States, both public and college, including Harvard, UCLA and Berkeley.

Its sequel - Nick Pope: Summer of '88 - was published in March 2026. It features drawings by Raymond Klecker and is a BookLife Editor's Pick, a Staff Pick from Independent Book Review, and it received a starred review from Kirkus.

His book Dandelion Crossing is about the first week of a controversial, brand-new suburban shopping mall in 1983, told through stories of fourteen characters who work and visit there. Kirkus said: "In Stanton's capable hands, the sterile mall quickly transforms into an unlikely town square: a place where people not only search for goods and services, but for connection in all its forms. A heartfelt and deeply human collective portrait set in a palace of consumerism."

Stanton's horror thriller Kings of the Earth, about a haunted surfing town on Lake Michigan, was nominated for the 2020 TopShelf Book Award. He published a second book: The Underachiever: Collected Stories in 2021. Both books are widely available.

Stanton has also completed his second novel Neon Muscle, about a huge fitness center in Los Angeles in 1983. Centering on five characters connected to the gym, the book explores the 80s fitness craze, the emergence of AIDS, the LA art scene and the world of male strip clubs.
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Christopher Stanton’s books

Average rating: 4.38 · 34 ratings · 17 reviews · 5 distinct works • Similar authors

	Kings of the Earth 4.21 avg rating — 14 ratings — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Nick Pope by Christopher Stanton (Goodreads Author), Christopher Darling (Illustrator) it was amazing 5.00 avg rating — 7 ratings — 3 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Underachiever: Collected Stories 2000-2010 4.83 avg rating — 6 ratings — 3 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Dandelion Crossing 3.71 avg rating — 7 ratings — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Nick Pope: Summer of '88 by Christopher Stanton (Goodreads Author), Raymond Klecker (Illustrator) 0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

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Christopher Stanton's Blog

Reedsy Discovery loves Summer of '88

Reedsy Discovery has rated Nick Pope: Summer of '88 as a 5-star must-read. They call it "an equal parts heartwarming and emotional slice-of-life story about the tension, pain, love, and joy in a teen boy's life in the eighties."
Check out the review here: https://reedsy.com/discovery/book/nic... Read more of this blog post »

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Published on June 22, 2026 13:49 • Tags: nick-pope

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Christopher is Currently Reading

Christopher is currently reading

Pedro and Me: Friendship, Loss, and What I Learned

by Judd Winick

bookshelves: currently-reading

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Jul 05, 2026 11:43AM

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Christopher’s Recent Updates

Christopher joined the groups G/G gay fiction for gay men, YA LGBT Books, and Addicted to YA
Jul 09, 2026 01:47AM
Christopher made a comment in the group YA LGBT Books — Introduce Yourself! topic " Hi! I'm Chris. I've published two graphic novels - Nick Pope and Nick Pope: Summer of '88 - that are the illustrated diaries of a gay teenager in the ...more "
Jul 08, 2026 02:42PM
Christopher made a comment in the group Addicted to YA — Nick Pope: the illustrated diary of a gay teen in 1987 topic " Hi! My graphic novels Nick Pope and Nick Pope: Summer of '88 are the illustrated diaries of a teen in the late 80s who is figuring out that he might b ...more "
Jul 08, 2026 02:30PM
Christopher made a comment in the group Goodreads Authors/Readers — Introduce Yourself! topic " Hi, Chris Stanton here! I've published three works of fiction, but I wanted to share my graphic novels Nick Pope and Nick Pope: Summer of '88. Both are ...more "
Jul 08, 2026 02:19PM
Christopher is on page 71 of 187 of Pedro and Me Pedro and Me: Friendship, Loss, and What I Learned by Judd Winick progress:	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Jul 05, 2026 11:44AM · like · see status
Christopher started reading Pedro and Me: Friendship, Loss, and What I Learned by Judd Winick	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Jul 05, 2026 11:43AM · like
Christopher rated a book liked it Our Winter Monster by Dennis A Mahoney (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
I was hoping for a more straightforward 1980s trade paperback monster here, but I applaud Mahoney's sky-high ambition and his psychologically rich exploration of relationship trauma. And, props for including a Black lesbian major character. The book ...more
Jul 05, 2026 11:36AM · like · see review
Christopher is now following Dan Attoe Author of The Taking Tree
Jul 05, 2026 06:23AM · like

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Christopher’s Quotes

“Couldn't get no closer and couldn't get no further away.”
― Larry Brown

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message 1: by Christopher

Sep 04, 2025 02:52PM

If you read and enjoyed Nick Pope, I'd be most grateful if you added it to these lists via Listopia:

+ Graphic Novels Set in the 1980s
+ Graphic Novels About Artists
+ Best Graphic Novels Set in the Past

Thanks!!

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Christopher Stanton’s Followers (15)

Christopher Stanton

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