''Finding H.F.'' is a 2001

young adult novel Young adult literature (YA) is typically written for readers aged 12 to 18 and includes most of the themes found in adult fiction, such as family dysfunction, substance abuse, alcoholism, and sexuality. It is characterized by simpler world build ...

by Julia Watts, published by

Alyson Books Alyson Books, formerly known as Alyson Publications, was a book publishing house which specialized in LGBT fiction and non-fiction. Former publisher Don Weise described it as "the world's oldest and largest publisher of LGBT literature" and "th ...

. It won the

Lambda Literary Award Lambda Literary Awards, also known as the "Lammys", are awarded yearly by Lambda Literary Foundation, Lambda Literary to recognize the crucial role LGBTQ+ writers play in shaping the world. The Lammys celebrate the very best in LGBTQ+ literatur ...

for Children's/Young Adult fiction that same year. Set in the

Deep South The Deep South or the Lower South is a cultural and geographic subregion of the Southern United States. The term is used to describe the states which were most economically dependent on Plantation complexes in the Southern United States, plant ...

, it describes the experience of being a lesbian teen in the

Bible Belt The Bible Belt is a region of the Southern United States and the Midwestern state of Missouri (which also has significant Southern influence), where evangelical Protestantism exerts a strong social and cultural influence. The region has been de ...

Plot summary

Abandoned by her teenage mother as a baby, 16-year-old Heavenly Faith (H.F.) Simms has been raised by her loving but deeply conservative

Baptist Baptists are a Christian denomination, denomination within Protestant Christianity distinguished by baptizing only professing Christian believers (believer's baptism) and doing so by complete Immersion baptism, immersion. Baptist churches ge ...

grandmother ('Memaw'). A tomboy and a

closeted ''Closeted'' and ''in the closet'' are metaphors for LGBTQ people who have not disclosed their sexual orientation or gender identity and aspects thereof, including sexual identity and sexual behavior. This metaphor is associated and sometime ...

lesbian, she is an outcast at school in the small rural mining town of Morgan, in southeastern

Kentucky Kentucky (, ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north, West Virginia to the ...

. Her best and only friend is Bo, an effeminate gay boy who is the punching bag for the high school football team, as well as for his violent alcoholic father. H.F.'s first lesbian experience comes when the beautiful new girl at school, Wendy Cook, invites her to a sleepover, where they get drunk on wine and make love. The following morning though, Wendy coldly rejects H.F.s advances, breaking her heart. The same day, H.F. discovers a shocking secret about her mother. Unable to cope with the pain in their lives, H.F. and Bo decide to embark on a road trip during spring break across the

South South is one of the cardinal directions or compass points. The direction is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to both west and east. Etymology The word ''south'' comes from Old English ''sūþ'', from earlier Proto-Germanic ''*sunþa ...

, from Kentucky to

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

References

External links

* 2001 American novels American LGBTQ novels American young adult novels Novels about lesbian topics Lesbian teen fiction Novels set in Kentucky Lambda Literary Award–winning works LGBTQ-related young adult novels Alyson Books books 2001 LGBTQ-related literary works {{2000s-ya-novel-stub