April 1, 2018
Gr 9 Up-Beckett Gaines is an out and proud teen who is obsessed with The Golden Girls, singing, and losing his virginity. He flies under the radar as much as he can while being only one of two out gay students in his school in a small rural Southern town. He lives with his father after his mother mysteriously left the family. Jaxon Parker is the star quarterback of the high school football team, the envy of everyone in his school and town, and dating the head cheerleader. He lives with his two mothers who are experiencing relationship strife of their own. When one of Jax's moms suddenly starts dating Beck's father, Beck and Jax decide to put their differences aside and try to throw a wrench in the relationship before it creates issues for both of their families. As they work together on organizing their town's first Rainbow Prom, they encounter resistance, hate, and acceptance in various forms. The feelings Beck already has for Jax intensifies while Jax comes to terms with his own sexuality. Howard has crafted an amusing portrayal of life as an LGBTQ person in a small town. Sex is a very real thing to many of the characters; it is described in somewhat explicit and, at times, gratuitous detail. The voices of the characters and the dialogue often feel adult. Fans of Becky Albertalli's Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda who are looking for something more mature will gravitate toward this story of unrequited first love. VERDICT Purchase where stories of humorous family drama and relationships are popular.-Christopher Lassen, BookOps: The New York Public Library and Brooklyn Public Library
Copyright 2018 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.
April 9, 2018
Florence, Ala., is not an easy place to be gay, but 17-year-old Beckett Gaines is doing his best to be out and proud, and he’s trying to lose his virginity (and hopefully find love) via his newly installed Bangr app. His father is supportive, so much so that he and his new girlfriend, Tracee, are planning a Rainbow Prom, but Beck worries that Tracee is on the rebound from her longtime female partner. It turns out that Beck has an unexpected ally in Tracee’s son, Jax Parker, a quarterback, class president, and golden boy who just wants his moms back together. It’s a small town, so Jax and Beck have a history, but they turn out to have things to learn about and from each other. Debut author Howard may lean a little heavily on gay tropes (Beck seems to have grown up on a diet of The Golden Girls and RuPaul), but he tells a funny and satisfying love story while challenging simplistic preconceptions that people are either gay or straight or that the Bible Belt plus football equals a homophobic community. Ages 14–up. Agent: Brianne Johnson, Writers House.
April 15, 2018
Grades 10-1 Beckett Gaines isn't interested in being anyone other than himself: a Golden Girls-loving, fantastically gay theater kid stuck smack in the middle of the Bible Belt. The not-inconsiderable homosexuality is a sin crowd is annoying, and it's impossible to lose his virginity here, but his dad, also a Golden Girls aficionado (and a total Rose), is great, and Beck doesn't have many complaints?until his dad starts dating Tracee, newly single and one of high-school king Jaxon Parker's moms. Jax, who just wants his moms back together, is fully aware that he himself is attracted to girls and guys, but he's a popular quarterback, and he's keeping that information quiet. Beck and Jax reluctantly join forces to split their parents up, just as their school starts preparing for its first-ever Rainbow Prom, where romance, whether they like it or not, is in the air. The language is raunchy, the innuendo is frequent, and the energy is irrepressible. Hand this debut to readers tired of problem novels who are looking for a hilarious romp.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2018, American Library Association.)