Booklist (starred review):

Set against a backdrop of New York City in 1990, Shaw's novel is narrated in the alternating perspectives of two young men, Adam and Ben, both on the cusp of 18. Adam has always lived in the Village, an only child with two loving, if somewhat unconventional parents. His life is fairly stable; he works in a video store and will attend NYU in the fall to pursue his passion—movies. Ben has left a toxic home to stay with his brother and pursue his own passion: the fashion world. Adam falls in love with Callum, and they have a restrained relationship, which only becomes clear when Callum tells Adam he's HIV positive. Rather than driving Adam away, it pulls him closer as Callum succumbs to his illness. Meanwhile, Ben starts assisting his brother's photographer girlfriend, Rebecca, at fashion shoots, building a base for his own career. The two threads of narrative draw closer and closer until they converge. Both Ben and Adam are vivid, affecting characters, and the dialogue is refreshingly realistic. Shaw captures New York City in a glorious riot of images, some as brassy and bold as the Pride parade, some small and sensitive, like Adam's lonely hospital vigil. This is a brilliant affirmation of the power of love on so many levels, with a wide range of appeal.

School Library Journal (starred review):

The year is 1990 and two queer boys on the cusp of adulthood find themselves searching for community and purpose in New York City. Ben is living with his older brother, a doctor, after their mother finds his stash of gay magazines; Adam is working at a film store when he meets the man who will become his boyfriend, first love, and raw introduction to the reality of being a queer man in that era. The boys’ stories are told from alternating points of view and barely intersect, allowing Shaw to comprehensively explore the effects of the AIDS crisis on the queer community. This book is historical fiction, riddled with early 1990s pop culture references that teens may find perplexing, but the frank, personable writing style circumvents many of the challenges the genre often has in generating teen appeal. The subject matter is intense and unspeakably tragic, but it is the deliberate inclusion of belligerent, unrestrained queer joy alongside the characters’ realization that it is almost inevitable they, too, will become victims of the deadly virus, that makes this an invaluable addition to a genre that has largely excluded this piece of history. Ben and Adam both cue white. A first purchase for all professionals serving older teens who seek to diversify their collection.

Denver Post:

Set in 1990 against a backdrop of fashion magazines, pop music, and dance clubs, this is an ostensibly YA book, and proudly so. But a deep well of emotion and experience feeds every chance encounter, every swoon, every heartbreak. Are there other YA books about queer friendship written with such kindness, warmth and insight? Maybe — and if there are, it’s not surprising I haven’t read them.

But there’s this one, and it’s important. The novel increasingly becomes about the height of the AIDS epidemic, and organically so, as Adam spends more time with his elders (uncles Jack and Victor) and the specter of death closes in on all the characters. It’s, at last, a story of friendship and hope and clinging to family (however defined) through the worst times imaginable. Devotion and guilt. Exhaustion and support. I burst into tears the last few pages. Seeing myself so readily in its characters and settings is a testament to Shaw.

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Publishers Weekly:

Set in 1990 New York City, Shaw’s bittersweet romance, told in alternating voices, traces the experiences of two white, gay teens grappling with life, love, and loss during the HIV/AIDS epidemic. When 17-year-old Adam, born and raised in the Village, falls hard for white musician Callum—who discloses his HIV-positive status after their first kiss, then disappears after they spend the night together—Adam’s anxiety spirals. Meanwhile, fashion-interested 18-year-old Ben, newly arrived from Poughkeepsie after his mother discovers that he’s gay, finds work with his brother’s photographer girlfriend. Adam and Ben cross each other’s paths regularly, slowly connecting as their story lines painstakingly detail Adam’s hospital visits to now-boyfriend Callum, whose illness progresses, and Ben’s first encounters with gay bars and Pride. Copious period-specific pop culture references pepper the novel, whose assured pacing and intimate tone balances elements of promise, possibility, and reality. In Adam and Ben, Shaw effectively captures the era’s feeling of pain, uncertainty, and liberation for the gay community.

Kirkus:

In 1990 Manhattan the paths of two young men intertwine.

Eighteen-year-old Ben, fashionable and repressed, is forced to live with his doctor brother, Gil, when his mother kicks him out after discovering that he’s gay. It’s there that he meets Gil’s girlfriend, Rebecca, an up-and-coming magazine and fashion photographer who understands him and nurtures his gifts. It’s also where he keeps seeing Adam, a 17-year-old who’s facing the horrors of the AIDS epidemic for the first time. Adam’s boyfriend, Callum, a smart, passionate musician with dreams of conducting, is HIV-positive, and his illness has progressed enough that it’s impacting his life. Adam fights to be a good boyfriend, to be responsible, and to keep Callum in his life until the end. Callum’s death ultimately brings Ben and Adam together, but the story is not just about their connection; it’s about the history of New York and the people who fought and coped, loved and lost, died and survived during the years when an HIV diagnosis was a death sentence. The novel is a love letter to this time and place and to the people of Manhattan. It masterfully pulls at the heartstrings, but logical readers may notice some inconsistencies, particularly in the portrayals of Adam’s alternately attentive and distant parents. Still, this is a touching and beautiful story that comes close to touching the stars. All main characters read as White.

A heartfelt reminder of a beautiful and terrible time in history.