When Artie Avilis joins a KGB-led tour to the land of his family's heritage, he expects answers about where he comes from. What he finds instead will cost him everything he thought he could keep hidden.

Behind the Iron Curtain, identity is policed, desire is dangerous, and even private truths carry consequences. As Cold War tensions mount, Artie is pulled into a web of political and personal intrigue that forces him to confront what he believes, what he wants, and what he is willing to risk to live honestly in a world that demands silence.

Woven through with Lithuanian folk tales and fragments of found haiku, The Boy Who Loved Trees is a lyrical debut of longing, secrecy, and the quiet defiance of becoming oneself.

Winner, Arch and Bruce Brown Foundation Grant for Gay-Positive Historical Fiction Honorable Mention, Bellwether Prize Dana Awards Finalist

For readers of Alan Hollinghurst, Colm Tóibín, and Anthony Doerr.