Hartinger,
Brent. Geography Club. Harper Tempest,
New York, 2003. 226 pages. Tr. Pbk. $6.99
ISBN 0060012234
Plot
Description:
Russel Middlebrook is convinced he is the only gay
kid in his high school until one night he meets GayTeen in a chat room. GayTeen is not only from Russel’s town, but
says he goes to Russel’s high school.
The two agree to meet in person, despite not knowing each other’s true
identities. Imagine Russ’s surprise when
Gay Teen turns out to be Kevin Land, star of the baseball team and one of the
most popular guys in school. Kevin and
Russ agree to keep each other’s secret and to continue to meet outside of
school. Meeting Kevin encourages Russ to
come out to his best friend Min, who in response tells Russ that she is
bisexual and is dating another classmate, Terese. The four teens, along with Ike, a fellow gay
classmate, decide to form a support group for gay teens. However, none of them are ready to come out
at school so they call their group the Geography Club hoping no one else will
want to join such a boring club.
Review:
Brent Hartinger’s novel Geography Club is an insightful and revealing novel into the life
of a gay teenager. Russ is not reader to
come out, but he is uncomfortable not being himself, despite his admitted
practice at lying to friends and family.
Russ feels incredibly uncomfortable leading Trish on, but he also wants
to be a good friend to Gunnar, so he agrees to date her even though he doesn’t
want to. Russ draws the line at having
sex with Trish; he knows that he would not be being true to himself or to her
if he was to sleep with her, even though she wants him to. Russ has a very difficult time fitting in at
school. He doesn't want anyone to know
his true identity so he plays along when fellow baseball players are teasing
Brian Bunce for supposedly being gay. In
the end Russ learns a lot about himself and becomes a better and more
empathetic person.
Genre:
Realistic Contemporary
GLBTQ
Reading
Level/Interest Level:
Grades 7 to 11
Similar
Books:
Pink
Lili
Wilkinson
Awards/Honors:
Lambda Literary Award 2003 Finalist
Author’s Website:
Lambda Literary Award 2003 Finalist
Author’s Website:
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