Book details
Sara Ryan - Author
Nic’s summer at a programme for gifted teenagers brings friendship, attraction and uncertainty when she and Battle become more than friends. The novel follows Nic as she makes sense of her feelings without needing to choose a fixed identity label.
Nicola Lancaster is spending eight weeks at the Siegel Institute Summer Program for Gifted Youth, a hothouse of smart, articulate, intense teenagers. She soon falls in with Katrina (Manic Computer Chick), Isaac (Nice-Guy-Despite-Himself), Kevin (Inarticulate Composer) . . . and Battle. Battle Hall Davies is a beautiful blonde dancer, and everything Nic isn't. The two become friends-and then, startlingly, more than friends. What do you do when you think you're attracted to guys, and then you meet a girl who steals your heart?
Book Analysis
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Sign in for personalised guidanceHow the book presents it: The book presents this favourably.
Talk about: What can make it helpful—or unnecessary—to choose a label for one’s feelings?
Talk about: How do the characters respond when their feelings become complicated?
This offers a teen-centred view of first same-sex attraction and uncertainty about identity. Nic’s feelings are not presented as requiring an immediate label, which may prompt useful conversation about how people understand themselves in different ways.
The relationship includes kissing, and the story addresses sexual tension, jealousy and emotionally difficult uncertainty.
How does Nic’s understanding of her attraction change, and what might it mean to accept a feeling without deciding on a label straight away?
A parent and teen could read it together or check in afterwards, focusing on how Nic and Battle communicate and handle uncertainty. Let the young reader set the pace for discussing identity or relationships.
Theme indicators describe how the book presents a topic; they are not a verdict on the whole book or your family's values. Confidence reflects how much book-specific material was checked. Only part of the book information was available, so some details remain unconfirmed.
Empress of the world by Sara Ryan | Open Library
Limited information
Checked: 1 October 2026.
Relevant to: First relationship and uncertainty
Limited information
Checked: 1 October 2026.
Relevant to: Attraction and identity; First relationship and uncertainty
Benefits, discussion questions and reading approaches are suggestions. Your knowledge of your child remains part of the decision.
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