Openly Straight by Bill Konigsberg

Pages: 320
Intended Audience: Mature Teens
Genre: LGTB
Notes for Parents: There are scenes with under-age drinking, coarse language and sexuality. For mature readers.

The Back Cover

Rafe has been out since eighth grade, and he’s fine with it, and so is everyone else. But sometimes he just wants to be a regular guy, not the gay guy. So when he transfers to an all-boys’ boarding school in New England, he decides to become “openly straight” instead. The transformation works: Rafe revels in a new group of straight guy friends and the freedom of living without a label. But then he falls in love with one of his new friends…who doesn’t even know that love is a possibility.

What the cover doesn’t tell you:

The sequel is called Honestly Ben.

What’s good?

So many of us would love a chance to re-invent ourselves. When Rafe gets just that, he doesn’t set out to pretend to be straight, he’s just trying to avoid that “gay kid” label. The story is both clever and frustrating as we watch Rafe get caught up in the lies he must inevitably tell to maintain his new identity. Rafe is a strong, affable main character with wit and charm. The plot is simple but intense as it explores how sexuality can become a defining aspect of one’s identity, and how avoidance by omission inevitably leads to deceit. The pace is even and fueled by genuine emotion.
Best Part: It’s hard to be different,” Scarborough said. “And perhaps the best answer is not to tolerate differences, not even to accept them. But to celebrate them. Maybe then those who are different would feel more loved, and less, well, tolerated.”

What isn’t good?

It’s difficult to explain what I didn’t like without giving away important parts of the story, so I’ll just say this: I didn’t like the romance. It was awkward. The supporting characters were cut-outs and the sub-plots were not unexpected.
Worst part: Nothing was terrible.

Recommendation þþþoo

It’s clear from the very beginning that what Rafe is doing is a bad idea. Although his motives are sound, his logic is not, and that means as readers we must struggle through Rafe’s realization that his innocent attempt to avoid being labelled is hurting people. It was frustrating. The story was engaging, but discomfiting – not because of the intimacy of the relationship, but for the awkwardness of it.

Konigsberg, Bill. Openly Straight. New York: Scholastic, 2013.