The Geography Club and The Order of the Poison Oak
by Brent Hartinger
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When sophomore Russell Middleton discovers
that he’s not the only gay teenager at his high school, he and his expanding
group of friends decide to meet regularly to hang out and talk. They’re not
ready to start an openly gay group, so instead they found the most boring
after-school society they can imagine: the Geography Club. With a name like
that, they figure, no one else would ever dream of joining up. But that’s where
they’re wrong. In Brent Hartinger’s The Geography Club, Russell and company briefly find the bliss of belonging, then experience the shame of failing to live up to their ideals. The group splits over accepting the school whipping boy into the club: popular members fear he’ll lose them friends and jeopardize their secret. Russell gets caught in the middle – and in the straightjacket of popularity – when he enjoys a brief turn as star of the baseball team. He finds himself choosing between his old friends and his new boyfriend, between what feels right and what makes him happy. In other words, Russell has to do some growing up. His story shows, depending on our choices, peer pressure can either feed bullying and cruelty or help to halt them in their tracks.In the sequel The Order of the Poison Oak, Russell and his two best friends take jobs as counselors at a summer camp for young burn victims. Amid summer romances and hiking trips, Russ learns to step up and take charge. He also learns firsthand that looks can be deceptive: a scarred face can mask an awesome person, leaves can be innocent or rash-inducing, and friends – even good friends – can make choices he doesn’t understand.Both stories have page-turning plots and funny, believable teenage dialogue. Russ is a great narrator, a good guy who sometimes finds it hard to do the right thing, and his friends (competitive, she’s gotta-be-right Min and antic, odd-duck Gunnar) are likable, irritating, indispensable sidekicks. Hartinger calls these books "incidentally gay" teen novels: the stories focus more on what the protagonist does than on who he is. They’re all about the choices teens make within their thick world of peer pressure and insecurity and they stress the value of honesty, kindness, and trust. Hartinger promises that Russell will return in future books (the next due in early 2007), and film adaptations are in the works. He’s also published the new teen suspense thriller Grand & Humble. With his great plots and characters, he’s a teen fiction writer to watch. Recommended for young adult readers ages 13 and older. Review by Mark David Bradshaw, May 12, 2006 For younger readers (ages 9-12), try Totally Joe by James Howe: http://www.watermarkbooks.com/review0306-018.html
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