Books like On Borrowed Wings by Chandra Prasad

After her brother’s fatal mining accident, Adele Pietra seizes a chance to defy her mother’s expectations and the provincial limits of her Connecticut hometown by enrolling at Yale University under her brother Charles’s identity—and gender. With hair cut short and chest bound, she immerses herself in the university’s social and academic life, meeting a diverse group of undergraduates: the sharp-witted Jewish Harry Persky, the enigmatic Phineas, and the charismatic Wick. Amid the normal rites of freshman year—classes, dances, and experimentation—Adele confronts her identity, race, and class while dealing with a dubious eugenics professor and forging a bond with a local Italian family. Her flirtation with Wick and her mother’s well‑intentioned meddling threaten to unmask her secret, challenging Adele to reconcile her dreams with the reality of her disguise.

First publish date: 2007