Ode to My First Car

Written by Robin Gow

Narrated by Natalie Naudus

A YA contemporary sapphic romance told in verse, by the critically praised author of A Million Quiet Revolutions, about a bisexual teen girl who falls in and out of love over the course of one fateful summer.

It’s the summer before senior year and Claire Kemp, a closeted bisexual, is finally starting to admit she might be falling in love with her best friend, Sophia, who she’s known since they were four.

Trying to pay off the fine from the crash that totals her beloved car, Lars, Claire takes a job at the local nursing home up the street from her house, where she meets Lena, an eighty-eight-year-old lesbian woman who tells her stories about what it was like growing up as gay in the 1950s and 60s.

As Claire spends more time with Lena and grows more confident of her identity, another girl, Pen, comes into the picture, and Claire is caught between two loves—one familiar and well-worn, the other new and untested.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Spotify Audiobooks
• Release date: Jun 20, 2023
• ISBN: 9781667076430

Robin Gow

Robin Gow is a trans and queer poet, editor, and educator from rural Pennsylvania. Their books include Ode to My First Car, A Million Quiet Revolutions, and Blue Blood. They are the supportive services coordinator at Bradbury-Sullivan LGBT Community Center in Allentown, Pennsylvania, and founder of Trans-cendent Connections, an organization that provides trans education resources to support trans youth. Gow also founded the New York City trans and queer reading series Gender Reveal Party. They live in Allentown, Pennsylvania, with their partner, best friend, and pugs, Gertrude and Eddie.

Reviews for Ode to My First Car

[Reina · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I really really enjoyed this book. The way the narrator tells the story is phenomenal and it brings up so much nostalgia of when I was a baby gay and it's a bit cathartic. It's a quick listen and I highly suggest it for any queer folk <3

[Steven Christensen · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

It was a good story. Though spme doesn't feel like the real life would be but mostly is. Really delves into the mind how someone who feels love for the same or all genders and scary it is if anyone finds out. It gives like a Poetry Story, but it is meant to be like that. I would recomend this for both teens and adults. I hope this helps anyone who struggles or worried about their sexuality. It certainly was a good read.