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In her new novel “Kelly’s Folly”, T.H. Forest delivers a laugh-out-loud and often poignant coming-of-age story that fearlessly tackles the messiness of adolescence in the American Midwest. The novel follows Kelly Townsend, a queer British teenager transplanted from England to the suffocating suburbs of Ohio, where he is forced to navigate a foreign high school ecosystem.
From the opening pages, Forest establishes a unique voice that is both hilarious and gripping. Kelly, with his eyeliner, nail polish, and unapologetic sass, is both a target and a torchbearer—ridiculed for his appearance and accent, but never diminished by it. The first-person narration shifts between humorous cynicism and sincerity, drawing readers into the theatre of teenage social survival. Every interaction crackles with subtext, especially those with JP, a closeted football player whose friendship with Kelly begins in science class and blossoms into something far more emotionally charged.
Forest avoids making Kelly a one-note rebel. Instead, he offers a complex portrait of a boy reconciling contradictory parts of himself—athlete and outcast, British and American, romantic and realist. The writing style expertly explores themes of performativity and dual identity, particularly in scenes where Kelly adopts different personas depending on whether he’s at school, diving practice, or alone with friends. Kelly is surely one of the most unique characters in queer fiction.
Though filled with pop culture references (from Apocalypse Now to John Hughes films), Forest doesn’t rely on nostalgia for easy sentimentality. The world of Verity High feels alive, populated with interesting secondary characters—Pip, Jesse, Danny, even the antagonists possess emotional dimension. The book’s structure, divided into parts titled “Tryouts,” “Training Camp,” and “Olympic Games,” cleverly mirrors Kelly’s inner journey as much as his competitive diving, which becomes a powerful metaphor.
At its core, “Kelly’s Folly” is a fun and sincere LGBT novel that will appeal most to young adults and people interested in queer fiction. It’s a story about the brutal emotional calculus of adolescence: knowing when to perform, when to blend in, and when to jump off the proverbial platform and risk everything. The author doesn’t shy away from darker undercurrents—there’s trauma and heartbreak—but handles them with a deliberate touch that never lets the reader feel hopeless.
“Kelly’s Folly” is a gripping novel that will likely resonate with readers who felt out of place in their teenage years, especially those who remember what it felt like to love secretly, to be betrayed by a friend, or to discover they’re braver than anyone ever gave them credit for. It’s a book with a big heart. Recommended for fans of Jandy Nelson’s I’ll Give You the Sun, Alice Oseman’s Heartstopper, or anyone who’s ever been the new kid wearing too much eyeliner and not giving a damn.
You can get your copy of “Kelly’s Folly” by T.H. Forest here!
