Grapefruit Moon

Privilege, wealth, drag and Spanish poetry.

How far would you go to fit in?

17-year-old Drew has just won a scholarship to Cooke’s Academy, an elite high school in Belfast, Northern Ireland. He’s the first in his neighbourhood to be accepted, and his family and community couldn’t be prouder. Especially because going there gives Drew a shot at a valuable college scholarship. But the pressure at Cooke’s Academy is intense, and Drew isn’t sure he fits in.

When Adam, leader of the toxic Stewards club, a privileged group of students who control everything that goes on at the school, invites Drew to join, Drew realises that if he can just play by the rules for long enough, he will have a shot at the scholarship.

Wealthy, popular Charlotte seems to have everything going for her, but she struggles with the expectations heaped on her by her family and the school. Meanwhile, her ex-boyfriend Adam is terrorising her with a video of them having sex.

As the friendship between Drew and Charlotte grows, both begin to come into their own through a growing love of Spanish poetry, poetry slams, and drag. A school trip to Spain brings them closer together, and pushes them further than ever from who they used to be.

Shirley-Anne McMillan is a writer from Northern Ireland. She has worked as a teacher, an Online Writer in Residence for the Irish Writers Centre, a youth worker with LGBTQ young people and a creative writing tutor. She lives in Co. Down with her family and in her free time she loves playing the guitar and knitting.