“Endearing gay teen pop-culture mash up fun.”
I really thought this was so charming. If you have ever seen “Beautiful Thing” it’s kind of an American spin on that feel… Taking mainstream teen romance and giving the gays a chance to share in that warm and fuzzy, teen-angst, growing pain fun. Using popular pop-culture movies as a kind of loose springboard the author throws our (delightfully clueless) hero, Sam, into a kind of John Hughes set of storylines that pay homage to the movies we loved growing up – but letting gay kids take the role of the hero. I think it was really cool to have a teen story that was fresh, lighthearted, likable and really put a gay kid into a mainstream kind of romantic high school storyline. There is the typical teen fixation with sex – but nothing lewd… or hardcore in the least. If I knew a gay seventeen or eighteen year old I would love to give them this book – I think they would feel it gave them a voice and would be a great way to tell them ‘you’re ok’. Not to say that adults wouldn’t find it charming too… The narration is great… it’s practically a full-length monologue (all first person) and the narrator is totally engaging, youthful, funny and brings the other characters to life. I really enjoyed these two installments and think it will be fun to see what the author does as the character grows up. If you ever read Adrian Mole – imagine a gay version and you’ll know exactly the kind of lighthearted read to expect.