In this episode, we’re celebrating Pride Month with author Derek Milman. Derek talks with host Suzanne McCabe about his forthcoming YA novel, A Darker Mischief (Scholastic, July 2, 2004). The gripping story revolves around Cal, a queer teen from a poor town in Mississippi. At Essex Academy, an elite boarding school in New England, Cal tries to fit in and falls in love along the way.

“I would encourage any teen picking up A Darker Mischief,” Derek says, “to see how Cal can surmount everything that has happened in the past and his sense of unbelonging and intense alienation to find love.”

In addition to A Darker Mischief, Derek is the author of the acclaimed Scream All Night (Balzer + Bray, 2018) and Swipe Right for Murder (Jimmy Patterson, 2021). A graduate of the Yale School of Drama, Derek has performed on stages across the country and appeared in several TV shows and films, including The Wolf of Wall Street (2013).

A Darker Mischief: Check out Derek Milman’s boarding school thriller about a queer teen named Cal, who finds himself swept up into a world of old money and privilege privilege.

You Are Loved: This curated book list from Scholastic celebrates LGBTQIA+ themes and experiences, with stories centered around identity, acceptance, and love. 

Derek Milman, author, A Darker Mischief

“While the secret society [in A Darker Mischief] is based on this very real secret society that’s still functioning at Yale, it’s fictional at the same time.”

“Cal comes from a poor family from a small town in Mississippi, and he has to contend with a lot and confront moral choices, in terms of how he can survive at Essex.”

“There are going to be things in life that you have to confront and decisions you’re going to have to make in order to get ahead, but you’re going to have to find a way to preserve who you really are and your values.”

“Holden [Caulfield in A Catcher in the Rye] might have been the first time I felt like I really connected with a kid in a book.” 

“A lot of young love, especially young, gay love, is not easy.” 

“Queer teens need a classic, sweeping, epic romance.”

Producer: Maxine Osa

Sound engineer: Daniel Jordan

Music composer: Lucas Elliot Eberl

Reach Out and Read: 35 for 35

Kelly Yang Has the Scoop on Top Story