Reeling from a family tragedy, seventeen-year-old Mark finds his escape in a purple, sequenced, puff-sleeved princess dress, which becomes an unexpected outlet for his grief as well as a path towards love and self-expression.

Mark Davis put the dress on for a joke: the other guys did it too, for the talent show. But when his boyfriend saw Mark in that dress, everything changed. Now Mark has given up on love. His older brother, Eric, tells him "Be yourself! Your full sequin-y self." When he realizes that Eric has problems of his own, Mark's escape to become someone else-- however briefly-- becomes an unexpected outlet for his pain, a path to authentic connection, and a provocation to finally see other people as fully as he wants to be seen. -- adapted from Goodreads