![]() ![]() Santi is queer, Suwa trans both are mixed-race, with complicated relationships with their relatives across those divides. ![]() The expansiveness and freedom of partial anonymity are particularly crucial because both boys have the kinds of identities that can be made to feel like a straitjacket. “So much of our friendship is about not being able to imagine the other person at all, filling in these details without ever drawing borders,” as Santi observes at one point. This is a very particular kind of relationship, one largely only possible in the 21st century, which has made disembodied intimacy not only possible but common. They immediately recognize kindred spirits, but it’s only as the relationship deepens that they start to share any concrete details about who and where they are. ![]() This line - originally uttered by the singer Mitski at a concert in 2019 - recurs like a refrain throughout Lio Min’s debut young adult novel, “ Beating Heart Baby.” In the world of the book, it’s attributed to a fictional anime show, “Mugen Glider,” which functions as a touchstone for a pair of teenage boys named Santi and Suwa.īoth are lonely middle schoolers when they encounter each other via an online message board, and the show is what brings them together. The worst thing about music is that other people get to hear it. If you buy books linked on our site, The Times may earn a commission from, whose fees support independent bookstores. ![]()
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