Calendar boy

On the edge of adulthood, self-discovery, coming out; in university towns, Europe, Vancouver, Toronto, Sydney, the protagonists of "Calendar Boy" unravel cultural heritage, community, identity on the road to -- they hope -- love, happiness, and self-acceptance. Set around the globe, sixteen adventurous stories weave fiction with real-life smarts, guts and oomph underpinning them. Quan shifts gears effortlessly from street-smart colloquial voice to rapid-fire monologue to bemused, exhilarated tone of immigrants new to Canada or to gay male culture. With one foot in urban Canadian life and the other in the global village, "Calendar Boy" will hit home even as it makes you see the world in new ways.