“Somewhere in Nowhere” — Steven Gellman gets it

04/26/2026

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This image is a horizontal composite featuring a portrait on the left and a book cover on the right. On the left, a man with a dark beard and a green baseball cap smiles warmly while holding a small, fluffy black-and-white dog. He is wearing a maroon shirt and holding a black mug that has "Jasmine Green" handwritten on it. To the right is the book cover for "Somewhere in Nowhere" by Steven Gellman. The cover art depicts a night scene under a large full moon that doubles as a clock face. Below the moon, two young men sit on a park bench talking, with a black cat silhouette nearby. The title is written in an elegant yellow script against a deep purple, starry sky framed by dark silhouettes of trees. — "Somewhere in Nowhere" by Steven Gellman (Image by Ed Hahn)

Why show just one facet of yourself when there are many? Steven Gellman, already an award-winning songwriter, flexes his ways with words, and life and remembrance of youth, with Somewhere in Nowhere, his debut novel that is far from jejeune. These characters are like people we know, but more fierce.

If you grew up in the previous millennium as I did, it is so refreshing to see writers giving youth the knowledge that they are beautiful as they are, and to see other youth feeling empowered to help their friends sort out some very difficult feelings.

Simon is 16 when we meet him. His Mom, Lindsey, gets a new job and moves her wife and him to a town about an hour away, Simon has to navigate a brand new school, in his senior year, with his besties Mags and Neel so far away. As someone who spent their senior year of high school several states away from my friends, prior to the digital age, this really resonated with me.

The first day of school, Simon meets golden boy PJ and is smitten on the spot. He knows some will think being raised by two moms makes him gay, though he knows better. His coming out, to himself and others, is complicated by this gut-swirling inner alien that comes to visit him every night at 11:22pm. And when his first date with PJ goes horribly wrong, what does it all mean?

The book cover for "Somewhere in Nowhere" by Steven Gellman features a peaceful, nighttime park setting rendered in shades of deep purple and blue. At the top, a large, glowing white moon contains two clock hands pointing to approximately ten past ten. Below this, the title is written in a flowing, yellow cursive font that stands out against a sky filled with small, white twinkling stars. In the lower half of the image, two young men are seated on a park bench facing each other in conversation; two drinks sit on the bench between them, and a black cat silhouette rests on the ground nearby. The scene is framed by the dark silhouettes of bare trees and a low fence, with the author's name printed in clean, sans-serif capital letters at the very bottom. — “Somewhere in Nowhere” by Steven Gellman

Being a teen is sufficiently complicated by itself, yet Simon finds his way to a startling discovery and has a completely different revelation than what he expected. Is there enough love around him for him to find his way through? Read. This. Book.

Whether you are 12-17 years old and struggling with the same questions, the loved one of a child in that age range, or — ahem — mature like me, this is a must-read. You’ll be thinking of those you’d like to gift the book to, and you’ll find this at your favorite bookstore. Enjoy!

ISBN: 978-1648909191