High schoolers Beckett Gaines and Jaxon Brock couldn't be
more different. Beckett is one of the only out and proud gay kids in their
conservative town of Florence, South Carolina. He is sassy, charismatic and has
a spunky best friend, Shelby, a girl who was bullied for being plus size and
never hesitates to defend anyone. Jaxon is the head quarterback of the high
school football team, he is the most popular boy in school and has an equally
popular evil cheerleader girlfriend named Tiffany. He has two mom's and lets
everyone know that he won't tolerate trash talking about them, but he also has
a secret. He doesn't like just girls. When Jaxon's mom and Beckett's dad start
dating, the two boys come up with an elaborate plan to break them up- Beckett
because he doesn't like Jaxon's mom and Jaxon because he wants his moms to get
back together. Through saucy gay clubs, notoriousely homophobic church
protests, and failed Grindr dates, the two boys realize very important things
about each other, who they want to be, and what they are to each other.
Let me start of by saying that this box is not false
adverting. This book is gay. It isn't a cliche perverted experimental affair
about a forbiddan daliance. And it has a happy ending. What could be better
than that? Unfortunately, the book was not as perfect as it sounds. Beckett,
one of the protagonists has some major discriminatory remarks towards woman and
people of color- just because he is a gay male, doesn't mean he isn't capable
of discrimination. The church is also very negatively represented as well. This
one isn't that large of a critcism actually, just an observation. The church
has been very detrimental to the well being and safety of gay people for a long
time and I know this from personal experience as a gay female, that the church
is not always supportive of people like me. Fear not, gay people of faith, the
church does make a positive appearence as well, supporting the PFLAG prom at
the end. The gay representation though is on point- it acurately captures the
feelings and wants of gay people without oversexualizing anything or going way
over the top like some straight writers who have no idea what they are doing.
The main characters, but not the side charecters have personalites that are
obvious and their entire character is not just about their sexuality. Another
warning, this book contains lots of graphic descriptions of guy on guy action-
not a complaint, but if that isn't your cup of tea, stay away from this book.
Shelby, the best friend is a tad cliche. She is plus size and sassy, an old and
tired out stereotype and readers don't get a real feel for her personality.
Last point- this book does handle some very important issues in a very good way
like bullying and loyalty/ soliderity against discrimination and how important
it is to stand up for people when they need it. All in all, a good book, well
capturing a gay pov with only a few criticisms.
Reviewed by Claire Skye, Grade 9
Glendale Central Library
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