A review by quillnqueer
Fraternity by Andy Mientus

dark emotional medium-paced

4.0

A Dark Academia set at an all boys school, with a similar setting to Dead Poet's Society, this follows 3 Queer boys as they find solace in each other and discover the dark power of a magical book, during the intensely homophobic early 90s, during the height of the AIDs crisis.

Leo, Zooey and Daniel were all complex characters with starkly different backgrounds. Flamboyant Leo trying to hide his trailer park background, Daniel trying to deal with his father's expectations and how he's viewed as a Black man, and Zooey, running from the events that happened at his last school.

This story takes a couple of liberties with the historical timeline for the purposes of showing the lengths men will take to gain power, but doesn't hold back from showing us the fear, uncertainty and grief the AIDs crisis caused when ignored by the people in power.