Abdi Nazemian

About Abdi Nazemian

Abdi Nazemian was born in Iran in 1976 and immigrated to the United States as a child. He attended Choate Rosemary Hall, where he first began writing, before earning a bachelor's degree from Columbia University and an MBA from UCLA. Before establishing himself as a novelist, Nazemian built a career in film and television, writing for series including The Village and Almost Family and serving as an executive producer on Call Me by Your Name.

Nazemian has published six novels since his 2015 debut, The Walk-In Closet, which won the Lambda Literary Award for LGBT Debut Fiction. His other books include The Authentics (2017), The Chandler Legacies (2022), Only This Beautiful Moment (2023)—winner of the 2024 Lambda Literary Award for Young Adult Literature and a Stonewall Book Award—and Desert Echoes (2024).

Like a Love Story

Published in 2019, Like a Love Story follows three teenagers in New York City in 1989: Reza, an Iranian immigrant hiding his sexuality; Judy, an aspiring fashion designer; and Art, her openly gay best friend. Set against the height of the AIDS crisis and the activism of ACT UP, the novel treats the epidemic not as distant history but as the lived backdrop of its characters' first loves and hardest truths. Time magazine named it one of the 100 best young adult books of all time, and it has become a touchstone in a broader wave of YA fiction that engages seriously with queer history.

Why Like a Love Story Has Been Challenged

Objections to the novel center on its frank treatment of sexual orientation and gender identity, including its portrayal of teenage characters coming out and navigating same-sex attraction, along with candid depictions of sexuality that critics have argued are inappropriate for school settings. Its unflinching engagement with the AIDS epidemic has drawn additional scrutiny from those who consider the subject too mature for younger readers. Within this catalog, the title has been challenged or restricted in 8 states and 32 districts, most often as part of broader efforts to limit books addressing LGBTQ+ identity in school collections.