SPL Book Club: Award-Winning Books
Only This Beautiful Moment by Abdi Nazemian • Selected by Shannon Lindsay
Winner: Mike Morgan & Larry Romans Children’s & Young Adult Literature Award (2024)
“Only This Beautiful Moment is a queer epic, a defiant piece of art that transmutes the rallying cry of ‘we’re here, we’re queer, get used to it’ into even more beautiful poetry that will almost certainly change the lives of those who read it.” –BookPage
Find Only This Beautiful Moment in MILS
“2019. Moud is an out gay teen living in Los Angeles with his distant father, Saeed. When Moud gets the news that his grandfather in Iran is dying, he accompanies his dad to Tehran, where the revelation of family secrets will force Moud into a new understanding of his history, his culture, and himself.
1978. Saeed is an engineering student with a promising future ahead of him in Tehran. But when his parents discover his involvement in the country’s burgeoning revolution, they send him to safety in America, a country Saeed despises. And even worse–he’s forced to live with the American grandmother he never knew existed.
1939. Bobby, the son of a calculating Hollywood stage mother, lands a coveted MGM studio contract. But the fairy-tale world of glamour he’s thrust into has a dark side. Set against the backdrop of Tehran and Los Angeles, this tale of intergenerational trauma and love is an ode to the fragile bonds of family, the hidden secrets of history, and all the beautiful moments that make us who we are today.” –From the publisher’s website
Eleven readers chose 11 books, and they will lead 11 discussions in 2026. The SPL book club meets the fourth Monday of every month at 6:30pm on Zoom. There are two exceptions: there is no discussion in August when the book club takes a summer break, and the last meeting is bumped up to the second Monday, December 14, to minimize scheduling conflicts around the holidays. New readers—near and far—are always welcome. To sign up for the book club email list, please send a request to the email below.