Common Sense Note
Parents should know that this book features some strong language, cruel taunting, and other questionable behavior, including the main character's decision to go alone and at night to meet someone he just chatted with online.
It also provides a good place for families to talk about sexuality and discrimination. Do you know anyone who uses the word "gay" to talk about anything bad or lame? What do you think of that? What would you think if students started a gay-straight alliance at your school? Would you join? Why or why not?
Common Sense Review
Reviewed By: Kate Pavao
Readers will certainly understand gay Russel's fear of being found out, and his happiness at learning he's not alone. Even with the club, Russel is pretty much in hiding -- a more traditional plight than faced by some recent titles such as Boy Meets Boy or Far From Xanadu -- but readers will appreciate that Russel doesn't loathe himself or try to change who he is.
Some of the writing here strains credibility a bit -- Disney-animation loving Russel at times seems too stereotypical, and his romantic relationship with a popular athlete never feels authentic. But while it may not be the smoothest read it is a book that will appeal to both straight and gay readers, and is likely to make teens think about tolerance, and their own responsibility to stand up for their peers -- and themselves.
From the Book:
I glanced at the others, and we held a conversation with our eyes. The Geography Club wasn't really about being gay, we all seemed to agree. It was ultimately about something else, some sense of being an outsider, a vagabond, with no place to call home.
Plot Summary:
Russel knows he's gay, and when he meets a cute classmate in a gay chat room, he learns shocked to learn he isn't the only one. Soon, he's discovered a handful of gay students at his school, and they form a support group (they call it the Geography Club so no one will suspect -- or want to join).
Things are going well for Russel, who's got new support, and even a new secret boyfriend. But when a teacher gives an interview to the school paper saying that -- by mere coincidence -- a gay kid at the school had approached her about starting a group, tensions begin to rise in the club. After the school outcast is incorrectly pinpointed as the gay kid, Russel has to figure out how much he's willing to risk to do the right thing.
Related Books:
Other books about gay teens: Rainbow Boys
So Hard to Say
Keeping You a Secret
Far from Xanadu
Boy Meets Boy
Rate It!
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Sexual ContentSome kissing, locker room nudity and sex talk; the narrator admits to looking at gay porn; a girl pressures the protagonist to have sex. |
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ViolenceA social outcast is physically humiliated. |
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LanguageSome swearing, including slurs against gay people. |
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Social BehaviorThe narrator meets someone from a chat room alone at night, though it turns out to be someone he knows from school. Russel joins in on the bullying of an outcast, but learns his lesson when he's ostracized after a rumor that he's gay circulates. A teacher is fired for her stance against abstinence-only education. |
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Drug/Alcohol/TobaccoSome characters drink, and one also smokes. The narrator tries chewing tobacco. |
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