Plot Summary: Lance has always known he was gay, and his family and his best friend Alli are completely supportive. He meets Sergio and is immediately smitten - what's not to like with his amazing good looks and sweet personality? Lance thinks things are finally starting to look up for him in the relationship department, until he finds out that Sergio is bi. Lance doesn't believe it's possible to like guys and girls and thinks Sergio is full of it. Sergio doesn't think Lance is being fair. Together with their best girlf friends, straight Alli for Lance, who's been with her boyfriend Chip forever and lesbian Kimiko for Sergio, who knows her sexuality but just doesn't know how to tell her conservative Japanese family about it, the two guys try to figure out their relationship. While the girls were initially just along to make things easier, Kimiko and Alli connect immediately - in a way that leaves Kimiko with a huge crush and leaves Alli questioning what she really wants in a relationship. Together or apart, these four teens have a lot to figure out about themselves and eachother.
Critical Evaluation: Critically acclaimed author Alex Sanchez has written several novels dealing with teen GLBT issues and this latest book is a great addition to his catalog. The characters are extremely well written and come off as relatable and real - two hallmarks that make a huge difference in how teen readers will respond to this title. Sanchez does a good job of giving our protaganists issues when dealing with their sexuality (from Lance's disbelief in bisexuality to Sergio and Kimiko's issues in dealing with their families reactions to their sexuality) without making it "the" issue of the story. In the end, this is just a story of teen love and teen angst that happens to include questions about sexual orientation. Teen readers will devour this title and hungrily await more titles from this king of GLBT fiction.
Reader's Annotation: Lance is gay and has always known it, Alli's straight - she thinks, Kimiko knows she's a lesbian but doesn't know how to tell her family and Sergio's bi - if only he could convince Lance that bisexuality is a real thing.
About the Author: Alex Sanchez was born in 1957 in Mexico City, MX. He recieved a BA from Virginia Tech University in 1978 and a MS in guidance and counseling from Old Dominion in 1985. After a varied career in all sorts of jobs, Sanchez became a youth counselor and evenutally got into human resources. From their he published his first novel, Rainbow Boys, in 2000, which received great critical acclaim.
Since then, Sanchez has written several more GLBT novels and won many literary awards. Sanchez lives in Florida and Thailand and is continually writing and publishing.
Information retreived from http://www.alexsanchez.com/
Genre: GLBT Fiction
Curriculum Ties: N/A
Booktalking Ideas: Power of manga for sexual orientation exploration. Role of best friends in coming out. Role of culture in comfort with sexual orientation.
Reading Level: 12+
Interest Age: 14+
Challenge Issues: Homosexuality, Sexually Explicit Scenes
Challenge Response: I would work with local GLBT organizations and use thier expertise about the power of titles like this.
Why is this Included: Alex Sanchez is a leading author in the GLBT field, and this is a quality title from him.
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