Reviews

High-Risk Homosexual by Edgar Gomez

epatrickmaddox's review against another edition

challenging emotional informative reflective sad tense medium-paced

4.75

verimythe's review

emotional hopeful inspiring reflective medium-paced

5.0

bookloverchelle's review against another edition

3.0

I'm trying very hard to expand what I'm reading (branching out from fiction/romance) so this was a departure from my normal read and I'm glad I read it. Edgar is a young man who shares his struggle growing up queer in Orlando. He shares his family struggles, finding friends, but also the growth of his journey and where he hopes to go in the future. This story is explicit and does go in to some dark topics but I appreciate that he does not sugar coat his life but shares his true self. Good read, not really for me, but I'm glad I read it.

skfhopkins's review against another edition

2.0

I almost gave up on this book multiple times. I feel it could have been half the length and given off the same message and vibe.

joyciemarie's review

challenging emotional reflective medium-paced

4.0

sbelasco40's review

4.0

I was quite absorbed in this all the way through, but was especially struck by the chapter where Gomez writes about the Pulse night club shooting, which was visceral and real and hit me hard. Gomez is from Orlando and spent a lot of time at Pulse, and the way he talks about the pervasiveness of reminders of that shooting, while also being aware it will soon fade from the public consciousness, was an indictment of our culture of amnesia around unthinkable tragedy. I look forward to what he writes next.

rachelwalexander's review

5.0

This was the memoir I didn't know I needed to read. Edgar Gomez's memoir is at times hilarious and at times a punch in the gut, but so often I found myself thinking, "Oh, I'm not the only queer person who's felt this way." Being a Nicaraguan-American 20-something from Orlando and being a white bi lady from Seattle are wildly different contexts to be queer in, and I love queer memoir because I learn so much every time I read another person's account of how they've survived or thrived or gotten to a point in their journey where they at least felt they could sit down and write a book about it. But my god - the ache to have the straight people you love call you after Pulse to check in, the sterile doctor's office where a disinterested professional who doesn't know a thing about your life labels you "high-risk" without telling you that - I've never read anyone writing about those particular experiences of being a millennial queer. Gomez is gifted in his ability to keep the mood of the book readable throughout - there's plenty of trauma but no wallowing, and so much to think about. His reflections on being the post-AIDS generation of gay men are especially salient: "To go from “If you sleep with someone, you’ll die” to “Just kidding! Be a hoe!” was such an earth-shattering shift that I still couldn’t believe one pill a day was all it took."

lukejsuth's review

not a big memoir person but really liked this; chapters on Pulse were especially gutting

bookish_spren's review

Will come back to it.  Not in the mood for a memoir right now. 

octobermontoya's review

emotional funny hopeful reflective fast-paced

4.75

I bought High Risk Homosexual as a birthday gift, but decided to pick it up myself after she expressed how much she enjoyed it. Gomez's writing is charming, approachable, funny, and consistently self-reflective. I enjoyed that Gomez didn't shy away from the messiness and general chaos of queer life, while also making space for joy, creativity, and hope. I listened to the audiobook version and was very happy that Gomez narrated his book himself (I don't know why this seem so rare)!