Fat Forward Books | Let Them Stare: A Novel

Let Them Stare: A Novel

Jonathan Van Ness

Julie Murphy

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From Emmy Award winner Jonathan Van Ness of Queer Eye and #1 New York Times bestselling author Julie Murphy comes a bighearted story about friendship, love—and discovering the secrets and beauty of your own hometown.

Sully is ready to get out of Hearst, Pennsylvania. With a fashion internship secured, the gender-nonconforming eighteen-year-old is trading in their stifling small town for the big city. Sully even sells their beloved car, to Bread—er, Brad—the most boring (and maybe only other) gay kid in town.

When Sully’s internship goes up in smoke, they’re trapped in Hearst with no cash—and no car. Desperate, they go to the thrift store, their personal sanctuary. There, they discover a vintage bag—like “put this baby in an airtight case at the MET” vintage. If Sully can authenticate it, the resale value would be enough for a new life in the city.

But when they begin to investigate, Sully finds themself haunted. Literally. With the ghost of Rufus, a drag performer from the fifties with no memory of how he died standing—no, floating—in their bedroom, Sully’s summer has a new purpose:

help this ghostly honey unlock his past and move on and

make bank—after all, the Real Real doesn’t take poltergeist purses.

With Rufus in tow, and Brad—who’s looking pretty scrumptious these days—playing chauffeur, Sully delves into the history of the town they’re so desperate to escape. Only to discover that there might be more to Hearst than they ever knew.

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[Thanks for checking out Fat Forward Books on Bindery! This post features links to my writing about fatness across the years, from representation of fatness in fiction to how conceive of a fully fat liberationist future. In addition to sharing my new work on social media, I'll also update this list with links each time I publish a new piece about fatness, especially in books!\ \ Fatness in Books \ \

We're Here, We're Fat and Queer ( Publishers Weekly, April 2025) [Digital Version]\ \
Review: PLAIN JANE AND THE MERMAID is a fast-paced fairytale with a complex finale ( The Beat, May 2024)\ \
Read the full story ‘CADENCE’ from the SHARP WIT anthology ( The Beat, May 2024)\ \
10 Books to Read for Fat Liberation Month ( The Mary Sue, August 2023)\ \
‘Fat Off, Fat On’ Author Clarkisha Kent on Why Her Younger Self Would Be Scandalized ( The Mary Sue, May 2023)\ \
X-Tremists #3 Proves Blob ISN’T the Best Mutant – But He Could Be ( Shelfdust, April 2021)\ \
Book Thoughts: Your Body Is Not an Apology Workbook (Blog, March 2021)\ \
Faith Taking Flight Author Julie Murphy Says She Would Love to Write Comics ( CBR, July 2020)\ \
Review: Julie Murphy's Faith Taking Flight Establishes An Important Superhero Origin ( CBR, July 2020)\ \
Young Readers Need Positive Fat Representation in Literature (We Need Diverse Books, June 2020)\ \
Bitch Planet #3 and The Radical Fatness of Penny Rolle ( Shelfdust, January 2020)\ \
Superhero Faith Herbert Gives Me Hope for a Fat-Positive Future ( The Mary Sue, November 2018)\ \
We Need More Fat Heroes in Comics ( The Mary Sue, March 2018)\ \ \ Fatness in Non-Book Media \ \
Fat People Belong in Fantasy, Including TTRPGs ( Rascal News, May 2025)\ \
This Element of ‘Dragon Age: The Veilguard’ Means the World to Me As a Fat, Queer Gamer ( The Mary Sue, October 2024)\ \
Review: ‘Empire Waist’ is the movie I needed as a fat teenager ( The Mary Sue, September 2024)\ \
‘Your Fat Friend’ Follows Author Aubrey Gordon From Anonymous Icon to Award-Winner & Bestseller ( The Mary Sue, December 2023)\ \
Netflix’s ‘Survival of the Thickest’ Is a Stand-Out Debut Worthy of All the Praise ( The Mary Sue, July 2023)\ \
Netflix’s ‘Dance 100’ Competition Series Does Nothing To Combat Fatphobia in the Dance Industry ( The Mary Sue, March 2023)\ \
Hulu’s Shrill Season 3 Isn’t Perfect, but It Feels Like a Sendoff ( The Mary Sue, April 2021)\ \
Game Thoughts: Little Nightmares (Blog, April 2021)\ \
Shrill Is a Gift That Proves Why Fat People Should Tell Our Own Stories in Season 2 ( The Mary Sue, January 2020)\ \ \ More Writing About Fatness \ \
Response To Viral Advice Column Is a Reminder That Anti-Fat Bias Isn’t Limited To a Specific Gender or Sexuality ( The Mary Sue, January 2023)\ \
When Systemic Fatphobia Works "For" You (Blog, April 2021)\ \
Fat Liberation Is the Future ( Autostraddle, March 2020)\ \
Cosplaying While Fat Roundtable: Experiences With Community and Cosplay ( The Mary Sue, September 2018)\ \ \ If you'd like to read a broader selection of my writing about topics including 2sLGBTQIA+ and disability representation in pop culture, visit theverbalthing.com .](https://fatfwdbooks.binderybooks.com/item/c5LNbKWVOKUhu3co9beX/)

📌 Writing on Fatness

This pinned post features links to my writing about fatness across the years and will be updated with new work as it's published.

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