The Maidenheads

Named Most Anticipated by Goodreads, LGBTQ Reads, Autostraddle, Debutiful, Electric Lit, and SheReads

“There’s no real substitute for living through the indie-grunge scene of the early 2000s, but reading Benny Peterson’s beautifully illustrated and delightfully queer new novel, The Maidenheads, is perhaps as close as you can get to actually running wild and free through the very specific world of D.C. punk.”
—Vogue

“This novel is a love letter to the music scene of the early 2000s that fans of grunge, indie rock, and pop punk will undoubtedly love. It’s also a deeply moving and undeniably sexy take on self-discovery and reinvention, hammering home the idea that it’s never too late to start over and that coming-of-age has no age limit. A delightful, messy, heartfelt, and punk rock queer love story.”
—Kirkus (starred)

“[A] big-hearted debut . . . The sheer joy of making music comes through on every page, as does Jamie’s determination to be herself. Indie music fans should snatch this up.”
—Publishers Weekly

“A standout debut with an impeccable voice. This is a memorable story about music, love, and self-discovery. I was hooked from page one.”
—Emily Austin, author of Everyone in This Room Will Someday Be Dead

“If Kate Bush and Björk had a baby, it would be The Maidenheads, the debut book from Benny B. Peterson. This novel is a queercore punk symphony of the human heart and limbs.”
—Debutiful

“A paean to the early 2000s, the D.C. indie music scene, and the pulsing ache of unresolved love.”
—Goodreads

“Peterson is a Maryland native, and it shows: The first chapter of Maidenheads alone includes references to Baltimore’s Charles Village, Johns Hopkins, Howard County, Silver Spring and D.C.’s 9:30 Club. In this ode to the DMV indie music scene, the novel follows newly single Jamie, who unexpectedly joins her old ex-girlfriend’s successful new band and navigates both her return to performing and the return of complicated feelings toward her ex.”
—The Banner

“Like a perfect bubble bath on a cold rainy night, The Maidenheads is a novel you’ll sink into and won’t want to leave. It starts out in a melancholy minor key, but the writing glows with warmth and hope – and a molten core of eroticism. The characters are marvelously messy, and you’ll fall in love with them for it. Before you know it, you’re tearing through the pages, desperate to find out what Jamie does next and whether she ends up with Mari (and whether she should). The Maidenheads is a slice of life that reminds you how big life is, and how full of beautiful possibilities.”
—James Frankie Thomas, author of Idlewild

“Benny B. Peterson’s The Maidenheads is so much more than a music novel. This is an audacious and tender debut about the many long arcs that make up a life: the arc of self-discovery, of love, of art-making, of losing and forgiving your friends. Is it ever possible, Peterson asks, to recapture a life you abandoned? And why does nostalgia always turn into a trap? The Maidenheads is a smart, intoxicating bop of a novel.”
—Isle McElroy, author of People Collide

“Reading Benny Peterson’s glorious debut The Maidenheads feels like being at an intimate small venue concert at two am with a friend you secretly yearn for but know it’s a bad idea, but you’re going to drink too much and make out anyway. It feels like hearing your favorite teenage angst playlist, and now you’re an adult but the songs still get you. This is a perfect novel of messy queers, complicated all-the-feelings friendships, and growing up that never really ends. I loved it.”
—Alex Marzano-Lesnevich, author of The Fact of a Body: A Murder and a Memoir

“I never wanted to stop reading this thrilling, lively, and moving book! Jamie and Mari felt so real that I expect their story to go on, expect to see them at a show, or walking down the street, holding hands, eating gummy bears, or fighting. A book about finding out who you are in art, gender and sexuality, family and love, and in every way that matters. This novel is as scrappy and full of heart as the Maidenhead’s music, and I flew through it with joy and plenty of tears.”
—Lydi Conklin, author of Songs of No Provenance

“This Bildungsroman captures the quivering intensity of first love and heartbreak in the most visceral way. How does one be a person in the world? And make art? And live in one’s truth? I was so moved and I couldn’t put it down.”
—Katya Apekina, author of Mother Doll