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| I didn't hyperlink this image, so don't click on it. You can order from the links at Konigsberg's website. |
Openly Straight is the story of Rafe
who decides to move from Colorado to the East Coast in order to attend an all-boys
boarding school. He tells his family and friends he’s switching schools in order
to have a better chance at attending an Ivy-league school, but in reality, he wants
to see what it would be like not being identified as the “gay guy" and he decides to "stand in the door of the closet" at his new school.
I like Rafe and I like this story of friendships.
But, I must say even before reading the book, I knew what was going to happen, and
you probably do too. But that doesn't mean the plot is too predictable to be enjoyed and be surprised. Konigsberg creates some scenes I rarely, if ever, have
seen in a book—a boy kissing a boy for the first time and boys discussing their
attraction to one another. These moments are tender and lovely and funny and sad.
This in not a book where the gay protagonist
gets beaten to a pulp or extremely humiliated in front of his peers, but there
are moments of homophobia and ridicule. Rafe is lucky to have a wonderful family—interestingly
both are professors—and his mom supports her son with love and enthusiasm, and I
can’t help but smiling at the way she joins in on her son’s life. And, she would
probably give him a copy of Openly Straight.
Konigsberg has a great blog; I feel as if I could spend several hours reading through his posts which are witty, readable, and personal. I'm not sure if he will ever read this post, but if you do, please consider writing a sequel.
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