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A review by kba76
Queerleaders by M.B. Guel
3.0
Thanks, NetGalley, for the advance copy of a book that feels like it should be part of something bigger.
Mack is gay and has a serious crush on her school’s head cheerleader, Veronica. After she writes a note outlining her crush, Mack has to suffer the indignity of being outed by the boyfriend of her crush. This alone is bad enough, but the reaction of students in her Catholic school is terrible.
Not one adult steps up and tries to deal with the homophobic behaviour that is very much in evidence. Mack doesn’t give in to this awful behaviour - but she does vow to get her revenge by making it her mission to kiss all the cheerleaders. There's no rhyme nor reason to this, but it suits the story arc so we go with it.
To cut a long story short, Mack suddenly finds herself very popular. From never having been kissed to getting a range of girls keen to experiment. This goes to her head a little so it’s no surprise when she falls for further attempts to shame her.
However, this time round there’s a little more support for Mack and she has a girlfriend to help her through this.
Queer leaders was a very short story and it really felt as if it should form part of a bigger picture. It was all a little bit too much like a wish-fulfilment exercise and I felt there was a distinct lack of background detail to help us engage with Mack and her experiences.
Mack is gay and has a serious crush on her school’s head cheerleader, Veronica. After she writes a note outlining her crush, Mack has to suffer the indignity of being outed by the boyfriend of her crush. This alone is bad enough, but the reaction of students in her Catholic school is terrible.
Not one adult steps up and tries to deal with the homophobic behaviour that is very much in evidence. Mack doesn’t give in to this awful behaviour - but she does vow to get her revenge by making it her mission to kiss all the cheerleaders. There's no rhyme nor reason to this, but it suits the story arc so we go with it.
To cut a long story short, Mack suddenly finds herself very popular. From never having been kissed to getting a range of girls keen to experiment. This goes to her head a little so it’s no surprise when she falls for further attempts to shame her.
However, this time round there’s a little more support for Mack and she has a girlfriend to help her through this.
Queer leaders was a very short story and it really felt as if it should form part of a bigger picture. It was all a little bit too much like a wish-fulfilment exercise and I felt there was a distinct lack of background detail to help us engage with Mack and her experiences.