Debbie Does Detention: A Stonewall Honor book. Be Gay, Do Crimes.

by Adam Selzer, S.J. Adams

A John Hughes-esque story of a Full House-obsessed girl who tries to get over a crush on her best friend by going on a Holy Quest with a couple of misfits who've invented a religion of their own. It's an epic tale of bowling alley snugglepuppies, hair burger chefs, The Fellowship of Christian Athletes, and practical time travelers. Of finding holiness in chili joints, dead malls, haunted houses, and the strange underbelly of suburbia.

Originally published in 2011 by Flux as The Epic, Completely True Blue (Almost) Holy Quest of Debbie by SJ Adams, this cult hit (which was really by Adam Selzer) has recently been targeted by book banners in at least two states, and would be illegal to have in the author's old middle school library. If they had the sense God gave a moose the banners would have just ignored it and let it fade away, as it had been, but now, well....

An ALA Stonewall Honor book, 2013
YALSA Popular Paperbacks, 2014

"A hysterical and irreverent read from the get-go...definitely one of those books that I'll re-read over and over." - Teen Librarian Toolbox

"A kinetic and well-paced comedy that just might win a few converts" - Kirkus

"Touching and humorous...Debbie and her offbeat cohorts are nuanced and authentic. " - Publisher's Weekly

"This book will change the life of anyone that reads it. It made me believe that even from the worst things in life can come good things, like friends that come from detention, and relationships that come from facing your worst fears." - YALSA reader response

"Debbie is an incredibly likeable protagonist, and watching her become a real Slatebreaker over the course of the book is pretty awesome. " - Slatebreakers

"I wish there were a dozen more like it and a movie. " - The Literary Omnivore

"Yeah, you heard her. A movie." - SJ Adams

"Every single time I thought we were going to hit another YA/romance cliché, the plot stuck to something actually plausible happening...Sparks was a lot of fun and made me laugh and cry, and even reminded me of early Daniel Pinkwater at times." - Bookish

"This novel was fantastic. Definitely check this out if you love funny novels that have a lot of driving and a lot of misfit characters. " - Reading Nook

"Every once in a while an LGBTQ book comes out for the YA audience that just strikes me as being a game-changer for my expectations of LGBTQ YA...This is the type of book that will have you laughing and thinking at the same time. My favorite kind of book, really. The characters are still in my head, and I want to stay with them so badly. Five stars." - Dreaming in Books.

249 pages, Paperback

Published August 30, 2023

About the author

Adam Selzer blocked Goodreads on his computer for years but now he's on here, so let him have it. His first book was HOW TO GET SUSPENDED AND INFLUENCE PEOPLE (now available in a "Now With More Swearing") edition, his next one is PLAY ME BACKWARDS (for satanic young adults), and his best known is probably I KISSED A ZOMBIE AND I LIKED IT, a Twilight satire that was not marketed as a satire.

He also writes the SMART ALECK'S GUIDE series and has published a bunch of Chicago history/ghostlore books.

You can also find him under the name SJ Adams, the name he used for SPARKS: THE EPIC, COMPLETELY TRUE BLUE (ALMOST) HOLY QUEST OF DEBBIE, which won a Stonewall honor and made the YALSA popular paperback list.