''Deposing Nathan'' is a 2019 young adult fiction book by American author Zack Smedley (born 1995).

Book

''Deposing Nathan'' was published by Page Street in May 2019. It tells the story of two teen boys who become best friends but eventually have a deadly falling-out, resulting in one of them being deposed and made to tell the story of what happened between them. Smedley conducted extensive research on the book's wide variety of subjects, including spending nearly six months studying law and completing several medical courses at his university.

Reviews

''Deposing Nathan'' earned a starred review from

Kirkus ''Kirkus Reviews'' is an American book review magazine founded in 1933 by Virginia Kirkus. The magazine's publisher, Kirkus Media, is headquartered in New York City. ''Kirkus Reviews'' confers the annual Kirkus Prize to authors of fiction, non ...

Magazine and was praised by the

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

as "a superb story, told in an original and masterly way."

School Library Journal ''School Library Journal'' (''SLJ'') is an American monthly magazine containing reviews and other articles for school librarians, media specialists, and public librarians who work with young people. Articles cover a wide variety of topics, wi ...

also reviewed the book favorably, writing, "At its heart a story about complex relationships, the structure adds layers of suspense that will have readers constantly reevaluating events." The book was included on several year-end lists, including Kirkus's Best YA Books of 2019 and ALA's 2020 Rainbow List. It was a finalist for a

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 ...

and was the winner of the 2019 YA Bisexual Book Award.

Author

Smedley was born in 1995 in

Southern Maryland Southern Maryland, also referred to as SoMD, is a geographical, cultural and historic region in Maryland composed of the state's southernmost counties on the Western Shore of the Chesapeake Bay. According to the state of Maryland, the region incl ...

and attended the

University of Maryland, Baltimore County The University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC) is a Public university, public research university in Catonsville, Maryland named after Baltimore County, Maryland, Baltimore County. It had a fall 2022 enrollment of 13,991 students, 61 un ...

, where he earned a degree in chemical engineering. He wrote his first full manuscript in eighth grade and began querying it at the end of his junior year of high school, to which it was "rejected unanimously." Smedley cycled through several more projects before writing what would become his debut novel, ''Deposing Nathan'', during his senior year of college. He is openly bisexual. Smedley's sophomore novel, ''Tonight We Rule the World'', is scheduled to be published in Fall 2021.

Accolades

Won * 2019 YA Bisexual Book Award for ''Deposing Nathan'' (Page Street, 2019) Nominated * 2020 Lambda Literary Award for ''Deposing Nathan'' (Page Street, 2019)

References

{{authority control American young adult novels 2019 debut novels 2019 American novels Novels about bisexual topics 2019 LGBTQ-related literary works