Description

Book Synopsis
NAMED A BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR BY: Vox * The Paris Review * NPR * Vanity Fair / A FINALIST FOR THE L.A. TIMES BOOK PRIZE FOR FIRST FICTION

James Frankie Thomas’s Idlewild is a darkly funny story of two adults looking back on their intense teenage friendship, in a queer, trans, and early-Internet twist on the Manhattan prep school novel.

Idlewild is a tiny, artsy Quaker high school in lower Manhattan. Students call their teachers by their first names, there are no grades, and every day begins with 20 minutes of contemplative silence in the Meetinghouse. It is during one of those meetings that an airplane hits the Twin Towers.

For two Idlewild outcasts, 9/11 serves as the first day of an intense, 18-month friendship. Fay is prickly, aloof, and obsessed with gay men; Nell is shy, sensitive, and obsessed with Fay. The two of them bond fiercely and spend all their waking hours giddily parsing their environment

Idlewild

    Product form

    A Paperback by James Frankie Thomas

    £11.69

    Includes FREE delivery

    RRP £12.99 – you save £1.30 (10%)

    Order before 4pm on Wednesday for delivery by Fri 6 Nov 2026.

    2 in stock

      Trusted by thousands of customers. See 2,385+ Customer Reviews

      View other formats and editions of Idlewild by James Frankie Thomas

      Book details

      Publisher Abrams & Chronicle
      Imprint Abrams
      Published 10 October 2024
      ISBN-13 9781419769153
      978-1419769153
      ISBN-10 1419769154
      Also in:
      Fiction Contemporary Fiction

      Description

      Book Synopsis
      NAMED A BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR BY: Vox * The Paris Review * NPR * Vanity Fair / A FINALIST FOR THE L.A. TIMES BOOK PRIZE FOR FIRST FICTION

      James Frankie Thomas’s Idlewild is a darkly funny story of two adults looking back on their intense teenage friendship, in a queer, trans, and early-Internet twist on the Manhattan prep school novel.

      Idlewild is a tiny, artsy Quaker high school in lower Manhattan. Students call their teachers by their first names, there are no grades, and every day begins with 20 minutes of contemplative silence in the Meetinghouse. It is during one of those meetings that an airplane hits the Twin Towers.

      For two Idlewild outcasts, 9/11 serves as the first day of an intense, 18-month friendship. Fay is prickly, aloof, and obsessed with gay men; Nell is shy, sensitive, and obsessed with Fay. The two of them bond fiercely and spend all their waking hours giddily parsing their environment

      Recently viewed products

      © 2026 Book Curl

        • American Express
        • Apple Pay
        • Diners Club
        • Discover
        • Google Pay
        • Maestro
        • Mastercard
        • PayPal
        • Shop Pay
        • Union Pay
        • Visa

        Login

        Forgot your password?

        Don't have an account yet?
        Create account