When You’re Brave Enough
Available April 7th, 2026 from Viking/Penguin Young Readers
Before she moved from Austin to Rhode Island, everybody knew Lacey as one half of an inseparable duo: Lacey-and-Grace, best friends since they were toddlers. But at school, being lumped together with over-eager, worm-obsessed, crushes-on-everyone Grace meant Lacey never quite fit in—and that’s why at her new middle school, Lacey plans to reinvent herself.
At first, everything seems to go as planned. Lacey makes new friends right away, she finds a rabbi to help her prepare for her bat mitzvah, and she even gets cast as a lead in the eighth-grade musical. Which is when things start to get stressful, because it turns out the students at her new school have a long-standing, un-official tradition: No matter what the show is, in the final performance, the leads always kiss for real.
Lacey’s never kissed anyone before—she’s not even sure she’s ever had a crush. But while her new friends create elaborate schemes to help her decide which co-lead to choose, Lacey realizes she might want something totally different than what any-one expected. With the final performance approaching and big decisions looming, Lacey must determine if she’s brave enough to be who she really is in front of the person who matters most.
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Praise
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"Rebecca Bendheim captures the anxieties and triumphs of middle school in a beautiful and honest way. When You're Brave Enough is a lyrical coming-of-age story that will be a hit with anyone who has felt too scared to speak up or sing out. This tender debut had me cheering for Lacey as she learns and grows, like a caterpillar becoming a beautiful queer butterfly."
Jake Maia Arlow, Stonewall Honor author of The Year My Life Went Down the Toilet
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"Bendheim delicately and heartbreakingly paints a portrait of first love, the struggle to understand one’s authentic self, and the uncertain, painful, and still somehow joyful landscape of coming of age.”
Corey Ann Haydu, author of Eventown and The Ordinary and Extraordinary Auden Greene
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"When You're Brave Enough is a sharply emotional, rawly honest, and finely nuanced portrayal of finding yourself as a young person. This gorgeous story of first love and the roles we play on stage and in life hits every high and low note, starring a protagonist you'll root for from the first page and want to give a standing ovation to by the last."
Taylor Tracy, Stonewall Honor Author of Murray Out of Water