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A review by labunnywtf
Openly Straight by Bill Konigsberg
5.0
The servers were down at work the last two days. While everyone else was whinging about not getting any work done, I quite happily sat at my desk, knitting and reading more than I have in months. In fact, I can't remember the last time I read a book, start to finish, in one day.
To be fair, I'd only gotten through 3/4 of the book by the time work ended. I then came home, and found many things to do while staring down at this book. Lots of baking.
Mmm, brownies.
This book is fantastic. I need to do a mass recommend on it, which I try to avoid doing at all cost.
The premise is already intriguing. A boy who has already been out of the closet for some time changing schools, and deciding to be "in the doorway" instead. Reading this, I felt so uncomfortable for him. As a completely boring straight person, I don't know what it is to be afraid that a gesture will completely ruin the facade of my life.
Well, okay, sometimes I worry that one drop of my willpower and people will realize I'm a complete psychopath, but that's actually easier to deal with. People step away from psychopaths. They avoid them, as opposed to come at them with heavy objects and harsh words.
And I fell in love with Ben. I can't imagine any reader not falling a little in love with him. So sweet, so genuine, and my heart started ripping at the edges, because I just knew this was not going to end well.
But I had hope. And I want every boy to have a gay best friend now. Not so they can suddenly learn they are gay, but because Ben was so relaxed and comfortable with Rafe, and...hunh. I need a spoiler cut.
And that's really what I love about this book. If you remove the omance part of their bromance, it's still a fantastic story. Because even if they'd never kissed, even if they'd never taken it any further than good hugs and shoulders to cry on, I could still see Ben being hurt because he was so close to Rafe, and this huge secret that he couldn't see was always between them. He wouldn't need to be homophobic to be hurt/offended at the lie. He loved him, whether romantic or as a friend, but he didn't know him. And that would hurt without the agape and eros and all that wonderful language.
But the romance was so wonderful. It felt real, and like Bill Konigsberg had this exact relationship, and wrote what happened verbatim. And I will rest gracefully in the belief that his partner is the Ben in this story, and that after that terribly dissatisfying ending, they made up and lived happily ever after with puppies and plastic screwdrivers every Sunday.
After I finished the book, I closed the cover, walked to my phone, and tweeted to Mr. Konigsberg, capslocking at him for ending it that way.
Because evil, that's why. Just evil.
To be fair, I'd only gotten through 3/4 of the book by the time work ended. I then came home, and found many things to do while staring down at this book. Lots of baking.
Mmm, brownies.
This book is fantastic. I need to do a mass recommend on it, which I try to avoid doing at all cost.
The premise is already intriguing. A boy who has already been out of the closet for some time changing schools, and deciding to be "in the doorway" instead. Reading this, I felt so uncomfortable for him. As a completely boring straight person, I don't know what it is to be afraid that a gesture will completely ruin the facade of my life.
Well, okay, sometimes I worry that one drop of my willpower and people will realize I'm a complete psychopath, but that's actually easier to deal with. People step away from psychopaths. They avoid them, as opposed to come at them with heavy objects and harsh words.
And I fell in love with Ben. I can't imagine any reader not falling a little in love with him. So sweet, so genuine, and my heart started ripping at the edges, because I just knew this was not going to end well.
But I had hope. And I want every boy to have a gay best friend now. Not so they can suddenly learn they are gay, but because Ben was so relaxed and comfortable with Rafe, and...hunh. I need a spoiler cut.
Spoiler
And even if Ben decides that no, he isn't gay, he does like women and he is going to continue down the straight and not-too-narrow path, just being friends with Rafe was such a good experience for him, broken heart at the end or not. It's a beautiful friendship, even if you remove the relationship part from it.And that's really what I love about this book. If you remove the omance part of their bromance, it's still a fantastic story. Because even if they'd never kissed, even if they'd never taken it any further than good hugs and shoulders to cry on, I could still see Ben being hurt because he was so close to Rafe, and this huge secret that he couldn't see was always between them. He wouldn't need to be homophobic to be hurt/offended at the lie. He loved him, whether romantic or as a friend, but he didn't know him. And that would hurt without the agape and eros and all that wonderful language.
But the romance was so wonderful. It felt real, and like Bill Konigsberg had this exact relationship, and wrote what happened verbatim. And I will rest gracefully in the belief that his partner is the Ben in this story, and that after that terribly dissatisfying ending, they made up and lived happily ever after with puppies and plastic screwdrivers every Sunday.
After I finished the book, I closed the cover, walked to my phone, and tweeted to Mr. Konigsberg, capslocking at him for ending it that way.
Because evil, that's why. Just evil.