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A smart, big-hearted Young Adult novel,
Carrie Jones’ “Tips on Having a Gay (ex) Boyfriend” adds a twist to the YA breakup novel.
High school senior and singer-songwriter, Belle Philbrick, is dumped. And not in your usual way. Her boyfriend Dylan–Harvest King to Belle’s Harvest Queen–announces that he’s gay. And, needless to say, dumps her. “Tips on Having a Gay (ex) Boyfriend” chronicles Belle’s story in first-person narration over the course of the week that follows.
Why a week? In an inspired piece of character development, Belle doesn’t want to turn into a Malory–a girl who whines about a boy for an extended period of time. Instead, she spends time with her best friend, Emily, and becomes closer to Dylan’s best friend, Tom. And, because she lives in a small Maine town–her breakup and Dylan’s announcement that he’s gay remain their secret for about 24 hours before everyone knows everything. “Tips on Having a Gay (ex) Boyfriend” is a tale not just of Belle’s coming to terms with her gay (ex) boyfriend, but also the entire town’s adjustment to Dylan’s announcement.
Carrie Jones has created an admirable heroine in Belle. While her breakup with Dylan is understandably painful, social justice and her true love for Dylan win over her pain. As one of the leaders of her school’s Amenesty International chapter, Belle can’t overlook when other students call Dylan “fag” (or her, weirdly, “fag hag”). Belle is a compelling character, very real despite the fact that her situation may seem unusual. One doesn’t expect your first and true love to be gay. Fortunately, Belle has a good friend to turn to–a level-headed girl named Emily. Here is a revealing conversation between the two girls:
“‘You know. It’s a big deal what’s happening to you and Dylan and everything. That’s hard to adjust to. You love him for, like, forever and then–boom that love’s gone.’
I stare into Emily’s blue eyes. She stares back with sympathy. I say as undramtically as possible. ‘It was a lie, Em. It was just a fairy tale. You don’t have to recover from a fairy tale.’
She exhales, plucks off the lens cap again and twirls it between her fingers. ‘Yes, you do.'”
Carrie Jones has teenage speak–even the discourse of smart, self-aware teens like Emily and Belle–down pat. “Tips on Having a Gay (ex) Boyfriend” is highly recommended for older teens. (There is some sexual content.) This is one smart book with one smart heroine.
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|Tips for reading this book…….,
1. Keep a tissue handy because if you were ever a teenager, ever in your life, this story will touch your soul and you’ll probably cry.
2. Find a comfortable place to sit because you won’t be able to move until you’ve finished the book and unless you read very fast, your butt will hurt.
3. Build a small shrine on which to place the book when you’ve finished because it forced you to look inside and really see yourself and you don’t want to forget that feeling. Ever.
I LOVED this book and I don’t even read this genre! Carie Jones has joined my list of favorite authors and I can’t wait for her next book!
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|Great novel and an author to watch,
I had the pleasure of meeting Carrie Jones at a convention. She was so funny and so nice that I just had to read one of her books. I started with her debut and am now eagerly reading through her growing catalog because TIPS was so good.
The plot of this book has been pretty well covered by other reviewers, so I won’t rehash it. What I will say is that I teach high school English and I can assure you that Jones has captured the dialogue and emotion I see every day in the halls. Her characters are completely believable, if a bit more socially conscious and forgiving than many teens. The sexual content is not explicit and certainly won’t surprise or offend kids in their mid to late teens.
You’ll fall in love with Belle and Em, sympathize with Dylan, and wish your daughter could find a boy like Tom. Teenagers, especially the girls, will want to read this one again and again.
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