Scan barcode
georgia_jaycee's review against another edition
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
jessicajessica101's review against another edition
4.0
Un livre que j'ai vraiment apprécié, rapide et facile à lire, on se plonge volontiers dans la vie de ces 4 ados qui découvrent les joies de l'amour et les doutes qui peuvent peser sur leur sexualité !
Un bon livre que je conseillerais !
Un bon livre que je conseillerais !
jackiehorne's review against another edition
3.0
2.5 Less a romance novel and more a friends angst with friends in minute detail over every aspect of each's burgeoning relationships. Interesting in that both friend pairs are boy/girl—a gay boy and a straight girl who finds herself becoming bi-curious, and a bi-boy and a gay girl. Told almost entirely in dialogue, with very brief lines of narrative. Reminded me of 1970s YA, written mostly in dialogue. But then again, exactly the opposite; in those books, dialogue was oblique, making the reader work really hard to fill in the gaps, whereas here dialogue spells every character's passing feelings in excruciatingly painful detail. Rather dull, alas.
whiterose912's review against another edition
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
1.0
THIS REVIEW WILL CONTAIN SOME SPOILERS. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED.
In 2001, Alex Sanchez wrote Rainbow Boys. In 2003, he wrote Rainbow High. And in 2005, he wrote Rainbow Road. All three of these books I have read and enjoyed, featuring solid characters and plots and treating topics like bisexuality and HIV/AIDS with respect. Unfortunately, in 2011, he released Boyfriends with Girlfriends and undid all of that.
When Boyfriends with Girlfriends allows itself to be a young adult romance story, it's quite sweet, but it's overshadowed by a whole mess of problematic representation. The bisexual character, Sergio, has no defining traits beyond being bi and Mexican. Lance the gay likes show tunes and musicals, Allie the "straight" girl likes anime and manga, Kimiko the lesbian is into poetry. Sergio's sole trait is that he is bisexual. Not that it matters much as the story is paced so poorly and head-hops so often that none of the characters get any time to shine, you don't get a chance to connect to any of them and they end up feeling flat and shallow.
When the guys are together, they talk about sex and sexuality. When they're not talking about it, they're thinking about it. Their first conversation in the story was about which gender the bisexual prefers which was an attempt by the gay Lance to determine what Sergio's "true" sexuality is. On the second date, Sergio reflects on dating and thinks that two guys dating is like a competition about who can get into the other's pants faster. Two chapters after this, Chapter Eleven, Sergio and Lance get into each other’s pants. I mean, seriously?
I mentioned problematic representation, and there are three main ones. First, the bisexual Sergio has a fascination with sex over relationships, he mentions that people can be friends with benefits, he expresses his interest in possible threesomes, and also sees nothing wrong with open relationships. Ordinarily this would be fine except he is bisexual, and all Sanchez manages to do is push the idea that bisexual people are promiscuous. Although Sergio himself mentions a lot that he is happy being bisexual, through the viewpoint of Lance we see a gay character trying to decide why Sergio won't just commit to one gender, not one person but one gender. A reductive viewpoint.
The second problematic representation is the Japanese character and her family. It relies on the harmful stereotype that Japanese women and demure and delicate, which is at odds with the butch nature of Kimiko. This does get addressed and resolved later in the story, but I found myself uncomfortable with the fact that the Japanese kids do karate as a sport, and that the connection between Kimiko and Allie is formed over shounen-ai and shoujo-ai novels (both outdated terms now), and that the other characters refer to the reserved but stern mother of Kimiko as the “Dragon Lady”.
The third problematic representation which is just a brief part of the story is during the second date that the guys have. They go to an Ethiopian restaurant and are served by a waitress, who is the only black woman in the entire novel I might add (Darrell might be black too but honestly, I didn't care enough about him to notice). During the date, the gay couple eat injera and wat, in simple terms injera are flatbreads like pancakes and wat are thick stews. The author describes the food as being "baby food-like", and then a page later one of them as "sweet orange goop". Whenever the author mentions Mexican foods like churros, they're just churros, no demeaning terms for those but the Ethiopian food? That's goop for babies. For goodness’s sake.
Now, on to some more positive things. In the last ten percent of the book the conflict of the story switches from bisexuality to relationships. Instead of the characters worrying about being bisexual or dating a bisexual, they instead worry about if they can date someone at all. This greatly improves the quality of the book but it's so late in the story that it feels tacked on, the dating of the main couples seems rushed and serves to hurry along to a conclusion with little in terms of resolution.
And the final positive part of the story is the character Chip. He is Allie's boyfriend at the start. He doesn't care that Allie's best friend is gay, he also doesn't care that Allie herself might be bisexual. He is a sweet guy who has a soft side, and when Allie breaks up with him, he cries. He gave me stereotypical jock vibes in the beginning but every time I thought he would do something homophobic or whatever he did the opposite. The book should have been about him.
This book is an example of how not to write bisexual characters, and how not to write Japanese characters. If you want better stories with bisexual representation, read Openly Straight and Honestly Ben, both by Bill Konigsberg (though Honestly Ben has more bi content). Or read the charmingly adorable webcomic Heartstopper by Alice Oseman. Even reading Rainbow Boys, Sanchez's first book, would be better bi rep. Save yourself the trouble, skip this book and look for something better.
In 2001, Alex Sanchez wrote Rainbow Boys. In 2003, he wrote Rainbow High. And in 2005, he wrote Rainbow Road. All three of these books I have read and enjoyed, featuring solid characters and plots and treating topics like bisexuality and HIV/AIDS with respect. Unfortunately, in 2011, he released Boyfriends with Girlfriends and undid all of that.
When Boyfriends with Girlfriends allows itself to be a young adult romance story, it's quite sweet, but it's overshadowed by a whole mess of problematic representation. The bisexual character, Sergio, has no defining traits beyond being bi and Mexican. Lance the gay likes show tunes and musicals, Allie the "straight" girl likes anime and manga, Kimiko the lesbian is into poetry. Sergio's sole trait is that he is bisexual. Not that it matters much as the story is paced so poorly and head-hops so often that none of the characters get any time to shine, you don't get a chance to connect to any of them and they end up feeling flat and shallow.
When the guys are together, they talk about sex and sexuality. When they're not talking about it, they're thinking about it. Their first conversation in the story was about which gender the bisexual prefers which was an attempt by the gay Lance to determine what Sergio's "true" sexuality is. On the second date, Sergio reflects on dating and thinks that two guys dating is like a competition about who can get into the other's pants faster. Two chapters after this, Chapter Eleven, Sergio and Lance get into each other’s pants. I mean, seriously?
I mentioned problematic representation, and there are three main ones. First, the bisexual Sergio has a fascination with sex over relationships, he mentions that people can be friends with benefits, he expresses his interest in possible threesomes, and also sees nothing wrong with open relationships. Ordinarily this would be fine except he is bisexual, and all Sanchez manages to do is push the idea that bisexual people are promiscuous. Although Sergio himself mentions a lot that he is happy being bisexual, through the viewpoint of Lance we see a gay character trying to decide why Sergio won't just commit to one gender, not one person but one gender. A reductive viewpoint.
The second problematic representation is the Japanese character and her family. It relies on the harmful stereotype that Japanese women and demure and delicate, which is at odds with the butch nature of Kimiko. This does get addressed and resolved later in the story, but I found myself uncomfortable with the fact that the Japanese kids do karate as a sport, and that the connection between Kimiko and Allie is formed over shounen-ai and shoujo-ai novels (both outdated terms now), and that the other characters refer to the reserved but stern mother of Kimiko as the “Dragon Lady”.
The third problematic representation which is just a brief part of the story is during the second date that the guys have. They go to an Ethiopian restaurant and are served by a waitress, who is the only black woman in the entire novel I might add (Darrell might be black too but honestly, I didn't care enough about him to notice). During the date, the gay couple eat injera and wat, in simple terms injera are flatbreads like pancakes and wat are thick stews. The author describes the food as being "baby food-like", and then a page later one of them as "sweet orange goop". Whenever the author mentions Mexican foods like churros, they're just churros, no demeaning terms for those but the Ethiopian food? That's goop for babies. For goodness’s sake.
Now, on to some more positive things. In the last ten percent of the book the conflict of the story switches from bisexuality to relationships. Instead of the characters worrying about being bisexual or dating a bisexual, they instead worry about if they can date someone at all. This greatly improves the quality of the book but it's so late in the story that it feels tacked on, the dating of the main couples seems rushed and serves to hurry along to a conclusion with little in terms of resolution.
And the final positive part of the story is the character Chip. He is Allie's boyfriend at the start. He doesn't care that Allie's best friend is gay, he also doesn't care that Allie herself might be bisexual. He is a sweet guy who has a soft side, and when Allie breaks up with him, he cries. He gave me stereotypical jock vibes in the beginning but every time I thought he would do something homophobic or whatever he did the opposite. The book should have been about him.
This book is an example of how not to write bisexual characters, and how not to write Japanese characters. If you want better stories with bisexual representation, read Openly Straight and Honestly Ben, both by Bill Konigsberg (though Honestly Ben has more bi content). Or read the charmingly adorable webcomic Heartstopper by Alice Oseman. Even reading Rainbow Boys, Sanchez's first book, would be better bi rep. Save yourself the trouble, skip this book and look for something better.
Content Warnings
Minor: Racism
michieknee's review against another edition
3.0
I was very happy to read a book that had not just one but possibly two bisexual characters as well as a whole cast of LGBT characters.
phillygirljl's review against another edition
3.0
Boyfriends with Girlfriends is an honest look at four teens exploring and embracing their sexuality while discovering who they truly want to be.
What I liked best about Boyfriends with Girlfriends is how realistic the characters in the novel are. They are easy to relate to and to emphathize with. I also liked the contrast of the four main characters, Lance, Sergio, Allie and Kimiko. Lance is an out gay teen who feels that Sergio is using bisexuality as a cop out- a reason to avoid choosing to be out as gay. Allie is straight with a boyfriend, but starts to question this when she meets and is intrigued by Kimiko, who is a lesbian. The relationships that develop between these four characters are very authentic and believable and I found myself wondering what the ending would be as I continued reading the story.
I didn't like how rushed the story was. While the actual relationships and characters were good, I felt that the development of the attraction between the two couples was too fast. I would have liked to see more growth of the two relationships from the first moment of attraction through to when they became an actual couple.
I think that this story will resonate with teens, even straight ones, because it is so real and honest. Author Alex Sanchez seems to have done a great job of translating the uncertainty of being a GLBT teen into writing and ultimately finding comfort with one's self, despite what others may think or feel.
What I liked best about Boyfriends with Girlfriends is how realistic the characters in the novel are. They are easy to relate to and to emphathize with. I also liked the contrast of the four main characters, Lance, Sergio, Allie and Kimiko. Lance is an out gay teen who feels that Sergio is using bisexuality as a cop out- a reason to avoid choosing to be out as gay. Allie is straight with a boyfriend, but starts to question this when she meets and is intrigued by Kimiko, who is a lesbian. The relationships that develop between these four characters are very authentic and believable and I found myself wondering what the ending would be as I continued reading the story.
I didn't like how rushed the story was. While the actual relationships and characters were good, I felt that the development of the attraction between the two couples was too fast. I would have liked to see more growth of the two relationships from the first moment of attraction through to when they became an actual couple.
I think that this story will resonate with teens, even straight ones, because it is so real and honest. Author Alex Sanchez seems to have done a great job of translating the uncertainty of being a GLBT teen into writing and ultimately finding comfort with one's self, despite what others may think or feel.
rallyk's review against another edition
4.0
I actually gave 4 stars, simply because after books like Bait, The God's box and Rainbow boys trilogy this wasn't seem so serious and deep to me. Yeah it was kind a quite nice and easy to read, but still not the same.
kelleemoye's review against another edition
4.0
Lance is gay and has a family who accepts him for who he is. He meets Sergio and really likes him, but isn't sure if he is the right boy for him.
Sergio is bi and his mother still prays for him every night. Although Sergio likes Lance, he is still heart broken over Zelda dumping him.
Kimiko is a lesbian but hasn't yet come out to her judgmental family. She has never dated anyone, but is crushing on Allie.
Allie is confused- she has dated Chip for two years, but since meeting Kimiko, she cannot stop thinking about her.
This book is about tolerance and acceptance which is what Alex Sanchez is all about. Accepting each other and accepting our selves for who we are. Tolerating all.
Mentor Text note: This book has some great references to poetry as well as some poetry written by Kimiko.
Sergio is bi and his mother still prays for him every night. Although Sergio likes Lance, he is still heart broken over Zelda dumping him.
Kimiko is a lesbian but hasn't yet come out to her judgmental family. She has never dated anyone, but is crushing on Allie.
Allie is confused- she has dated Chip for two years, but since meeting Kimiko, she cannot stop thinking about her.
This book is about tolerance and acceptance which is what Alex Sanchez is all about. Accepting each other and accepting our selves for who we are. Tolerating all.
Mentor Text note: This book has some great references to poetry as well as some poetry written by Kimiko.
audo's review against another edition
1.0
What an awful book. I found myself rolling my eyes at practically every page. The entire thing was completely monotonous and the writing was ridiculously awful. I couldn't even believe it. Countless times throughout reading it I felt like taking a red pen and marking it up, it was that bad. Where was the editor? Ugh. I saw the cover, and I knew it was about bisexuals and I just... expected more than this. I'm disappointed.