Geography Club

Geography Club

By Brent Hartinger

Russel thinks he’s ‘the only gay in the village’ – well, in his school, at least – until he discover that he’s not alone. Together with his newfound gay, straight and bisexual friends, he forms the Geography Club – a club that sounds so boring that no-one else will join and thus learn the secret of the true purpose of the club.

Russel is such a likeable protagonist, his first person narrative revealing him to be a fun-loving teen, with lots of heart, on a big journey learning about friendship, love and loyalty. He travels the path with some interesting friends, including Min and her lesbian lover, and the gorgeous jock Kevin who Russel falls for.

While lots of the issues in the story reflect the main themes of gay YA fiction – such as safe sex, homophobia and coming out – Hartinger has a way of making it all seem fresh and new and interesting. And this is because one of the main themes of the book is the feeling of wanting to hide away, or to keep secret, one’s true self – a theme so many can identify with. Even if it is like calling your gay, straight and lesbian alliance group a Geography Club.

A fast-paced book filled with fun, humour, sadness and friendship.

Rainbow High

Rainbow High

By Alex Sanchez

An interesting and enjoyable book, I loved the characters and the way Sanchez is able to give them voices that ring true.

It is, of course, very American-flavoured for this Aussie reader, which adds another dimension to the read – understanding American high schools, and the college selection process.

But it is the characters who drive this story. Nelson, who is waiting for the results of his HIV test, is dating Jeremy, who is HIV positive. Jason has to determine what effect it would have on his basketball career if he should come out, when so much depends on his scholarship for college. His boyfriend Kyle must decide whether to accept his offer from Princeton, when it would mean being so far away from Jason.

Sanchez writes with such clarity and confidence about such issues as coming out, safe sex and homophobia, and he mixes it in with universal issues such as first love, and the doubts, conflicts and sheer joy of falling in love. The balance seems just right, resulting in a well-crafted story.

Thoroughly caught up in these boys lives, I’ll be looking for the other titles in this series.

City of Bones

City of Bones

Author: Cassandra Clare

This is the first in a planned trilogy – the series title The Mortal Instruments referring to three magical items that can grant power over life and death.

Clary Fray is a normal teenager in every way, until she realizes that she can see things that others around her cannot. As she begins her journey to reclaiming the heritage that has been denied to her, her view of the world expands to include the existence of demons, vampires, werewolves and Shadowhunters. Clary’s clueless-but-loveable friend, Simon, gets caught up in her adventures; and she meets the brooding-and-mysterious Jace, who is adored by his brother-in-all-but-name Alec; and Alec’s gorgeously-beautiful-but-tough-as-nails sister Isabelle.

It is the cast of characters that carry this first novel. Interestingly intriguing, they are worth the effort of trying to determine their place in the plot, their various motivations and simply enjoying their moments of uniqueness. And the gothic, urban, New York setting gives such a gritty realism to the fantasy elements of the story.

In the end though, the novel is let down by the unoriginality of the plot. It is so derivative of so much else – more than simply reminiscent - the worlds of Buffy, Dr Who, Harry Potter, and Star Wars, are all echoing around in there. I’m mindful that this is the first in a series, so there’s hope that Clare is using these worlds as a springboard to her own ideas in the next two books. The nod to Holly Black’s Modern Faerie Tales is nicely done, and aims for that ‘insider’ feeling for readers following two authors writing in the same urban fantasy genre.

I was too disappointed with the plot device revealed at the end of the story; it’s so cliché now, it would take a writer with extraordinary skill to make that type of plot-line fresh and believable. Unfortunately, Clare is not there yet, and it made the ending anti-climactic and wince-worthy.

Nonetheless, I will be looking forward to reading the next part, The City of Ashes, to see where Clare takes her story and these characters. I have hopes that this will be one of those series that improves enormously with each new installment, building to a trilogy seen, as a whole, as a Great Read.

The straight road to Kylie

The straight road to Kylie

Author: Nico Medina

Hip and savvy, fast paced and partied out, this story is absolutely dripping with pop-culture references.

Jonathan is gay, and out and proud, until the most popular girl in the school offers him a deal. If he will go back in the closet, and be her boyfriend for their final school year, she will pay for him to go to London to attend a Kylie Minogue concert. Accepting the deal is easy, but when a cute boy enters the scene, Jonathan must weigh the cost of denying his true self.

This novel is full of fun, parties, fabulous humour, rich kids, drinking, and swearing. And it’s a really interesting and clever twist on the theme of acceptance/denial of gay identity. Jonathan is a very strong character, confident and happy with how he is living his life. It is the reaction of his friends to his new found ‘straight-ness’, and his interest in a possible boyfriend, that cause him to reexamine his sense of self.

I have to say that I feel Jonathan’s life as a young gay student - totally out, totally accepted, totally confident and proud - might seem more like a fantasy story for many gay kids. That being acknowledged though, it is a fun, fabulous read.