"Openly Straight," by Bill Konigsberg

The Protagonist: Seamus Raphael "Rafe" Goldberg. A high school student who's off to spend his junior year at an all-boys boarding school. He also happens to be gay.
His Angst: While he's fine with being gay, he's tired of having his homosexuality define everything about him, so he decides to keep it  on the DL at his new school. But what happens when he develops feelings for a classmate?

Secondary Cast:

Claire Olivia: Rafe's best friend who is not happy to be abandoned in Colorado while he's off in New England.

Albie: Rafe's roommate at boarding school. Weird, sloppy, but a good friend.

Toby: The skinny, openly gay BFF of Albie.

Ben: A huge, taciturn, but surprisingly insightful and empathetic classmate who develops a strong friendship with Rafe - but will it turn into something more?

Bryce: Ben's roommate and close friend who suffers from a mental illness, which reveals the "tolerant" attitude of Rafe's boarding school might only be policy-deep.

Steve: The Alpha Male of the boarding school, whom Rafe initially looks up to. Appears easygoing and tolerant on the surface, but he may not be as nice as he seems.

Angst Checklist:

• My Parents are Embarassing
• Sexual Identity
• One's Identity Apart from Sexual Identity
• Creative Expression
• Boyfriends
• Boys Who Also Happen to be Friends
• Lying versus Omitting 
• Homophobia
• Mental Illness
• Inspiring Teachers

The Word: This is my first piece of Book Expo swag - I received it from a sales rep from Scholastic during the BEA Blogger Con Happy Hour and I started reading it nearly right away. 

Rafe is tired of being the That Gay Guy. Don't get him wrong, he's fine with his sexuality. More than fine. His parents are crazy supportive of him - with perhaps a little bit too much emphasis on the crazy. They make such a big deal about his sexuality that sometimes Rafe worries that other people in his hometown of Boulder, Colorado see him as THE GAY DUDE first and the actual dude second. 

For his junior year, Rafe decides to attend a boy's boarding school in New England. There, where he can be hundreds of miles away from Boulder, hundreds of miles away from his rainbow-flag-waving parents, he hopes to have an opportunity to get to know other guys as a person and not as a label. However, Rafe discovers the line between being discreet about his sexuality and being back in the closet is blurrier than it sounds - especially once he starts crushing on a classmate. 

Openly Straight definitely raises some interesting questions about being gay and how big a part it plays in a person's identity. Konigsberg does an excellent job conveying how, even in a tolerant community, Rafe still feels set apart because he is gay. He doesn't have any close guy friends. People still make assumptions about him based solely on his sexuality - and even when those assumptions are harmless or positive, they're not based on getting to know him, but on his label as "The Gay Kid." Rafe doesn't have a problem with people knowing he's gay - he just doesn't want it to be the first thing people know about him. 

That being said, Rafe is an extremely privileged character. Sure, he's gay - but he's also white, his parents love him to pieces, he has an awesome best friend in Claire Olivia, and his family is wealthy enough to ship him off to Massachusetts on a whim. The novel does make a few attempts to acknowledge just how well off Rafe is (such as when he encounters closeted kids while on a speaking engagement), but there are many moments in the novel where he comes off as selfish and whiny. Oh, your parents love you too much? How awful for you. Although there's definitely an argument to be made that even gay kids who are accepted still have problems integrating their sexual identity into their everyday identity, I often found it hard to sympathize with Rafe and his revelation at the novel's end seemed too obvious. 

The most fascinating aspect of this novel is the almost-not-quite-romance between Rafe and his classmate, Ben. Ben identifies as straight, but views everyone equally and tries to keep an open mind about everything. His growing and stereotype-defying bond with Rafe, and the honesty with which he expresses himself, depicts exactly the sort of attitude Rafe wants to experience from the world at large - even as Rafe becomes increasingly worried about his own honesty in their relationship. 

While the novel is intelligent and raises a lot of interesting questions, I admired it more than I liked it. As I mentioned previously, Rafe is a bit of a spoiled character and I don't think the narrative does enough to remind us how fortunate he truly is. As well, the writing style is short and to the point - which, while serviceable, is not really a style I personally enjoy. That being said, I definitely recommend it in terms of interesting discussion and an original story.
B

"Kiss the Morning Star," by Elissa Janine Hoole

The Protagonist: Anna. It's the summer after her graduation, and her best friend Katy convinces Anna to go on an epic Jack Kerouac-inspired roadtrip in an effort to restore their friendship and their faith.
Her Angst: Anna's still recovering from her mother's death, she worries about leaving her grief-stricken father alone, and wonders what it means if her feelings for Katy go beyond mere best-friendship.

Secondary Cast:

Katy: Anna's best friend, with whom she's trying to reconnect after distancing herself out of grief.

Anna's Dad: Formerly an eloquent and enthusiastic preacher, now he's a near-silent recluse.

Pastor Shepherd: A zealous and slightly over-the-top pastor who encounters Katy and Anna on their roadtrip.

Seth: A cute member of a travelling rock band who Anna develops feelings for - but are they stronger feelings than the ones she feels for Katy?

Angst Checklist:

• Recovering from the Death of a Parent
• Depression
• Religion and Faith
• Does God exist? 
• Did we just accidentally kill those people with our car? 
• Bears, and Not Being Eaten By Them
• Relationship Drama is Ten Times Worse when It Occurs While You're Tripping Balls on Acid
• Exploring Sexuality
• Jack Kerouac - Prescient or Pretentious?

The Word: Although it's been a year since her mother died in a tragic house fire, our protagonist, Anna, is still caught in a choking, listless depression. The fire not only killed her mother, but it destroyed her home, her family's church, the vocation of her preacher father, and her own faith in God. She's been living more or less in a fog until the summer after graduation, when her best friend Katy convinces her to take a road trip with her, based on the Rucksack Revolution epitomized by Jack Kerouac in his novel, The Dharma Bums. As an afterthought, Katy adds another goal to their trip - to rediscover proof of God's love.

The vast majority of things that could go wrong on this trip, do go wrong, and Anna spends most of the book Freaking Out Over Everything. But that's essentially the novel's point - Anna needs to Freak Out, to wake up, to rejoin the land of the living. Through this, she reevaluates her priorities, her faith, and her growing feelings for Katy.

Katy strays pretty close to Manic Pixie Dream Girl territory as the unconventional BFF who has to poke and prod and pester Anna into trying new things (drugs! Tattoos!), but the novel allows her to be selfish, wildly irresponsible, and more than a little nuts. She's not Anna's guardian angel - she's there to protect and look out for Anna, but Anna comes to remember that she's supposed to protect and look out for Katy, too.

Kiss the Morning Star is a slim yet potent novel. Using exquisitely-chosen language, the author balances the novel's themes (Kerouac and religion) in a subtle and extremely effective way. The influence of Dharma Bums affects the narrative through how the characters interact with the text,  but not in such a way that excludes those people (like me) who've never read a word of Kerouac.

The religious aspect of Kiss is just as effectively handled. At the beginning of the novel, Anna has rejected the religion she was brought up in. There is no road-to-Damascas moment. Anna doesn't end the book singing in the church on Sunday. Rather, the novel demonstrates that Anna's problem isn't her refusal to believe in God, but her refusal to believe in anything, for fear of having it taken away. The novel examines how Anna softens, not towards her former faith, but towards the idea of faith, in a way that demonstrates the power of God's love while side-stepping the requisite preachiness.

That being said, the novel is not without flaws. The pacing of the novel can be clunky - the ending, in particular, felt uncertain and abbreviated and left some pretty important threads dangling. I also wished we had seen more of Anna's dad - he wasn't much of a character until the very end and then as quickly as he develops importance, he's written off. But all in all, Kiss the Morning Star is a beautifully-written and entertaining examination of grief, faith, friendship, and love.
A-

"Rainbow Boys," by Alex Sanchez

The Protagonists:

Jason: A basketball star with an abusive home life, even though he's dating a girl he can't stop thinking about guys. Does this mean he's gay? Who can he ask?

Kyle: Accepting of his sexuality but still closeted, he can't decide which is harder: coming out to his family, or helping Jason, the love of his life, decide whether he's gay or not.

Nelson: Out and proud (although still bullied), he's in love with Kyle, even though Kyle just wants to be friends. He feels like a third wheel and just wants to find a boyfriend and have hot sex. Is that so hard?

The Secondary Cast:

Debra: Jason's girlfriend, who is less than understanding about Jason's confused sexuality.

Shea: Nelson's lesbian BFF, who grows increasingly tired of listening to Nelson constantly complain.

Jack and Jose: The two school bullies currently on probation for assaulting Nelson.

Angst Checklist:

• Why do I keep dreaming about hot dudes? I HAVE A GIRLFRIEND.
• I'm in Love with a Straight Boy
• I'm In Love With a Boy Who's In Love with a Straight Boy Who Is So Obviously Not Straight
• Parental Disapproval
• Condoms and HIV
• Bullying
• Homophobia
• Eating Disorders

The Word: I found a hardcover edition of this book at a library sale and picked it up for one major reason and one minor, rather silly reason.

Major reason: I'd heard a lot about Rainbow Boys and how it was a ground-breaking early YA novel dealing with LGBT teens.

Minor, rather silly reason: That's a teenage Matt Bomer on the cover as Jason!

Originally published in 2001, Rainbow Boys examines the reality of being gay in high school. It begins when popular jock Jason, who's been worrying about his sexuality for a while, comes to a Rainbow Group meeting for gay teens. He chickens out, but not before meeting Kyle (a closeted academic who's been in love with Jason since forever) and Nelson (a flamboyant and openly gay teen who is, unfortunately, in love with the oblivious Kyle).

The novel is more character- and issue-driven than plot driven, but the characters are all so interesting, and the issues are discussed with such humour and honesty, that Rainbow Boys never became boring or  preachy. Jason has to deal with the fact that he might be gay, but who can he ask or talk to about his feelings without everyone finding out? It certainly doesn't help that his father is an alcoholic and homophobic abuser.

Kyle, meanwhile, has accepted the fact that he's gay but has to deal with coming out to his parents. How will his parents react - especially his father, who is continually ragging on him to be more masculine and take up sports, and disapproves of his friendship with the openly gay and effeminate Nelson? As well, Kyle has an enormous crush on Jason and despite wanting to help him with his sexuality, doesn't want to be seen as coming on to him or taking advantage.

Nelson is the only openly gay of the three characters - and has garnered the nickname "Nelly" as a result. I appreciated that Sanchez doesn't make him an object of pity, nor does he make his sexuality the be-all and end-all of his character. Nelson suffers from homophobic bullying, true, but he also nurses an unrequited crush on his BFF Kyle, worries about his body image (resulting in frequent binge eating), and struggles with his feelings for his absentee father.

That being said, the language seemed a shade on the juvenile side - the characters are all seventeen and up, and yet sometimes their thought processes and dialogue seemed more appropriate for thirteen- or fourteen-year-olds. For instance, the characters talk about kissing their pillows or their hands when thinking about their crushes - none of the characters actually masturbate (although masturbation and erections are discussed in dialogue).

This is especially odd since the novel does have sex scenes (two of which involve a character giving or receiving oral sex), that manage to be respectful and accurate without being graphic. It seemed off that a novel willing to explore characters having gay sex (including irresponsible, unprotected sex) seemed unwilling to depict a character doing more than kissing his hand and falling asleep after reading an issue of Honcho magazine.

When it comes down to it, though, Rainbow Boys is a sweet, intelligent, and engaging novel about gay teens that still holds up.
B+

"The Miseducation of Cameron Post," by Emily M. Danforth

The Protagonist: Cameron Post. When her parents die on the same day she kisses a girl, she subconsciously wonders if she somehow caused their deaths, even as she grows to explore what it means to be attracted to girls in small-town 1990s Montana.
Her Angst: Her guardian, her extremely religious Aunt Ruth, believes homosexuality is a sin and a sickness and when Cameron's sexuality comes to light, she feels forced to take drastic measures.

The Secondary Cast:

Grandma Post: Cameron's beloved, diabetic grandmother who helps raise Cameron with Ruth.

Irene Klausen: Cameron's best friend and first kiss - their relationship is dealt a decisive blow after Cameron's parents are killed.

Aunt Ruth: Cameron's well-meaning but evangelically religious aunt. Believes everything she's doing is for Cameron's own good.

Lindsay: A fellow competitor from Cameron's swim meets, and eventual friend-with-benefits, who helps introduce Cameron to lesbian culture.

Jamie: Cameron's stoner friend, who is awesome, but might have a crush on her. I honestly wish we saw more of him.

Coley Taylor: A girl with whom Cameron falls in love, who is nevertheless too restricted by her religious beliefs to enter into an honest same-sex relationship.

Reverend Rick: One of the leaders of God's Promise, a private school dedicated to helping teenagers overcome their unhealthy homosexual desires. A professed "ex-gay" himself, he sincerely believes he's helping teenagers become closer to God.

Lydia: Rick's aunt, and the other leader of God's Promise. A cruel, cold, hateful bigot with no sense of empathy or boundaries. Has a special corner of Hell reserved for her.

Adam Red Eagle: One of Cameron's classmates at God's Promise, forced to go by his homophobic, political-minded father, although his mother, of the Lakota tribe, believes he's a winkte, or "two-souls person."

Jane Fonda: Another rebellious God's Promise classmate, who was raised in a commune, grows her own weed and stores it in a hidden compartment in her prosthetic leg. I couldn't make this stuff up.

Angst Checklist:

• Dead Parents
• Self-Blame for Dead Parents
• Questioning Sexuality
• Bette Midler as Coping Mechanism
• Evangelical Christianity
• Where Do We Find Weed At a Private Christian School?
• Unrequited Love
• Homophobia

The Word: The Miseducation of Cameron Post is an example of a novel I haven't read it quite a while: a bildungsroman - a coming-of-age story.

But AnimeJune, aren't most YA novels coming-of-age?

In a sense, but I've found that most YA novels focus on a particular, narrow period of time in a teenager's life where something life-changing happens - a single summer, or year of school. My favourite bildungsroman, David Copperfield by Charles Dickens, follows the main character from miserable childhood to successful adulthood, with all the dramas in between. Instead of spanning a particular period of time or event, The Miseducation of Cameron Post follows Cameron from age twelve to seventeen, with a linear recounting of her interactions and discoveries.

Still, The Miseducation does have a theme - that of Cameron's developing sexual identity in small-town Montana, told in three parts. The novel opens as twelve-year-old Cameron discovers she has feelings for her best friend, Irene. The two kiss at a sleepover while Cameron's parents are on vacation. Later that very night, Cameron learns her mum and dad have been killed in a car accident, and her first reaction is relief, that they didn't find out, that they'd never find out. Her subsequent guilt and horror at this response strongly influences her growing understanding of her own desires and ultimately severs her friendship with Irene.

Cameron then acquires the guardianship of her born-again Christian aunt Ruth, and as she grows into a teenager (the novel's second part), she starts exploring her sexuality as well as its social context. On one end of the spectrum, she's influenced by her aunt's church, Gates of Praise, and the Christian youth group she is forced to join. On the other end, she has her friend and sometimes-girlfriend Lindsay, a city girl from Seattle, who inundates Cameron with ideas about lesbian culture and Gay Pride and gender constructs - subjects that interest but also intimidate Cameron, who only feels ready to explore what being a lesbian means to her personally.

She also falls in love with another girl in her class, named Coley, and as she moves to act on what seems like a reciprocated attraction, the book moves into its third and final part, where Cameron must hold true to her identity against serious and insidious opposition. When Coley confesses to her family that Cameron "seduced" her in a moment of weakness, Aunt Ruth packs Cameron off to God's Promise, a private ultra-Christian school for curing teenagers of their "sexual brokenness."

I like books that make me happy - but I also enjoy books that make me angry. Books that make me feel anything in such a powerful way are always preferable to books that don't touch me at all. I'll admit, I enjoyed the first two parts of this novel, but I never felt truly emotionally invested until the third part. The third part is excruciating to read - the methods used to try and "cure" these kids are infuriating. For instance, the teachers often conclude that behaviours that don't fit outdated and extremely cliched notions of gender are responsible for homosexuality - boys being too close to their mothers, girls liking sports, etc.

It seemed to me that the first two parts of this book were simply an elaborate and detailed lead-in to Cameron's struggles at God's Promise. The first two parts give Cameron the experience and the personal knowledge to understand and combat what's being done at God's Promise, to come fully into an understanding of her identity - and the validity of her identity - during a period of extreme struggle, and this was extremely powerful to read.

Part of what made that powerful was the humanity of the characters - well, most of them. The majority of the characters are given enough angles and layers that we can understand them, even care about and empathize with them, even when they're antagonists. Cameron's Aunt Ruth is never demonized, and after 200 pages of her interactions with Cameron we can understand her decisions and where they come from, even if they're short-sighted and awful.

The character who stood out the most for me was Reverend Rick, the young, handsome pastor who helps run God's Promise. The other leader, Lydia, is a loathsome bigot inside and out, but Rick genuinely cares about the kids and what he's doing and what he thinks he's helping them to do. Emily Danforth skilfully manages to render him sympathetic without rendering his actions sympathetic.

I also enjoyed The Miseducation of Cameron Post because it's a very atmospheric novel. Yes, at times (parts one and two) it's slow-moving, but it pays a lot of attention to Cameron's physical and social environment. I got a real sense of her small town and the types of people in it, the pervasive religious and farming culture, as well as how much Cameron loves her town. Yes, there's a part of her that knows she will eventually have to leave for greener (and more gay-friendly) pastures, but the story also conveys just how much of herself is bound up in this town.

That being said, I had a few niggles. The novel introduces a few plot points as if they are significant (like Cameron's mother's friend Margot, or Ruth's chronic illness), only to drop them without dealing with them. The character of Margot puzzled me, in particular, since her one appearance in the book left such a deep impression on Cameron, but it was never really explained.

Despite these quibbles, and the uneven pacing, The Miseducation of Cameron Post is an involving, thought-provoking novel about the importance of personal identity.
A-

You can purchase The Miseducation Of Cameron Post here.