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The Summer We Ran: Two Boys. One Secret. Thousands of Miles to Freedom
They were supposed to spend the summer planning their futures.
Instead, they ran.
Devon has spent his entire life doing everything right—perfect grades, full scholarship, carefully controlled choices. Robert has always seemed fearless, the kind of boy who smiles through chaos and never lets anyone see what he’s really feeling.
For two years, they’ve hidden the truth about who they are to each other.
Best friends on the outside. Secretly in love behind closed doors.
But after graduation night, one mistake changes everything.
When their families discover the relationship they’ve worked so hard to protect, Devon and Robert are suddenly forced to confront the reality they’ve been avoiding for staying home may mean losing each other forever.
So before the sun rises, they set out in a blue pickup truck, pack whatever they can carry, and disappear onto the open road with no real plan except one—
Don’t look back.
From the humid coastlines of South Carolina to endless highways, The Summer We Ran is a breathtaking YA gay romance about first love, identity, freedom, and the terrifying beauty of choosing your own life when the world expects you to become someone else.
Heartbreaking, hopeful, and impossible to forget, this emotionally charged coming-of-age novel is perfect for fans of Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe, They Both Die at the End, and The Song of Achilles.
Sometimes the hardest part of love isn’t falling.
It’s leaving everything else behind.
Instead, they ran.
Devon has spent his entire life doing everything right—perfect grades, full scholarship, carefully controlled choices. Robert has always seemed fearless, the kind of boy who smiles through chaos and never lets anyone see what he’s really feeling.
For two years, they’ve hidden the truth about who they are to each other.
Best friends on the outside. Secretly in love behind closed doors.
But after graduation night, one mistake changes everything.
When their families discover the relationship they’ve worked so hard to protect, Devon and Robert are suddenly forced to confront the reality they’ve been avoiding for staying home may mean losing each other forever.
So before the sun rises, they set out in a blue pickup truck, pack whatever they can carry, and disappear onto the open road with no real plan except one—
Don’t look back.
From the humid coastlines of South Carolina to endless highways, The Summer We Ran is a breathtaking YA gay romance about first love, identity, freedom, and the terrifying beauty of choosing your own life when the world expects you to become someone else.
Heartbreaking, hopeful, and impossible to forget, this emotionally charged coming-of-age novel is perfect for fans of Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe, They Both Die at the End, and The Song of Achilles.
Sometimes the hardest part of love isn’t falling.
It’s leaving everything else behind.
499 pages, Kindle Edition
Published May 14, 2026
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