I've put off writing about this one for a day or so, because, frankly, I don't know what to think. A brief outline of the story is probably in order before I discuss it. The story revolves around Joe Bunch, who, in the course of writing an autobiography as a school assignment, gradually makes public the knowledge that he is gay.
And another preliminary explanation: I only know one person well who is publicly gay. I worked with two teachers who were gay and public, but I didn't know them privately - only in connection with my work.
My first impression of the book was, "Whoa! This guy is massively stereotyping this young gay kid." He doesn't like sports, he likes to dance, he likes music, colors, flamboyant dress, movies, etc., etc. All of the things you have probably associated with gay men, this kid evidently likes. All of the things you associate with "guy-guy"s this kid doesn't like - electronics, sports (as mentioned above), getting dirty, being outdoors, etc. This bugs me, because my perception is that gay people are completely varied in their tastes for/against music, dance, flamboyant dressing, etc. I kept thinking, couldn't Howe have included a few characteristics that would make this kid more than just a stereotype? Then, the second thought was - well, maybe there are kids who completely fit the stereotype. Maybe the author is saying that, even fitting the stereotype to a T is OK. The problem is, it was hard to get a feel for Joe as a person, rather than just a stereotype.
My second impressions were a bit more favorable. As the book progresses, you do get to know Joe a bit better and, yes, even accept that he really IS like the stereotype. And he is one funny kid. I had a student who was like him in some ways - he wasn't gay, but he was the kind of kid that you just like to watch and keep track of over the years, because he is INTERESTING. There is always something going on with him. I find kids like that fascinating. You really want to see them react to life, because their reactions are so full of vitality.
My third basic thought about the book is that all of it fit together too easily: the accepting friends, the boyfriend who isn't quite ready to "come out", the accepting parents, the supportive teacher, the principal who comes around. Maybe things really are changing, but I don't think my gay friend had it that easy - and it certainly took him a lot longer than age 12-13 to feel comfortable enough to go public.
And the Christian bully is also a stereotype. There are a lot of people who are less accepting of gay people who are not bullies and/or who are not Christian.
So is Howe trying to say, this is how it could be? Is his target audience kids who are thinking they might be gay and he is trying to reassure them that this is OK? If so, what if they run into more problems than Joe does? What if their parents aren't supportive or they don't have a helpful aunt and grandparents who eventually accept it?
As I said, I have mixed feelings about the book. I am glad it is relatively upbeat, and I find Joe fascinating, but I worry about some of the side messages.
Good post.
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