Category: Closet Club

Thirteen year old Melanin Sun was looking forward to spending the summer hanging out with his Brooklyn boys, Raphael and Sean, writing in his notebook and thinking about calling his crush, Angie. The last thing he’s prepared for is the load that his mom drops on him when she tells him that her new “date” isn’t a dude, but her close friend, a white woman named Kristin. Melanin is seriously confused — he likes Angie, but if his mom is gay, does that mean he is, too? And how is he going to explain this to his two best friends? And does he even WANT to explain it? Melanin may have to lose some friends and gain some understanding before he comes to painful terms with his mother’s lifestyle.

Dirk McDonald thinks that he may be in deep doo-doo. Since he was a little boy, he’s felt different from other kids. And now that he’s a teenager, he realizes that the difference has to do with who he’s attracted to — and it sure ain’t girls. When Dirk meets Pup Lambert, his secret attraction is pulled to the surface. As the boys get closer and closer, Dirk tries to decide if he can afford to reveal his secret — will it bind them closer together or will he lose Pup forever? Once he tells, he can never take that decision back. Follow Dirk on his journey of self-discovery as he goes on a mission in his mind to his family’s distant past and learns about the people who made him who and what he is. A magically-real book, like all the novels by Block. If you end up digging Dirk as much as I do, read more about him and his friends in Dangerous Angels, the collected Weetzie Bat books

Lang Penner, unlike a lot of teenage guys, knows exactly who and what he is — gay and in love with his boyfriend, Alex. Or so he thought. Suddenly, Lang is as mixed up as any other seventeen-year old adolescent when he meets Huguette. Huguette(pronounced “Eu-gette”, “If you say my name Yougette, you get nothing!”) is a French student who is staying with the famous rock star, Ben Nevada, who Lang’s mom is keeping house for during the summer in the Hamptons. Sound complicated? It gets worse — away from Alex all summer, Lang finds himself falling for the gorgeous Huguette, but he’s told Brittany, a friend who had a crush on him, that he’s gay — could he be wrong? This book will take you all around the mulberry bush as you and Lang try to figure out the true nature of attraction, and the differences between love and sex.

Cary’s life is going from complicated to absolutely incomprehensible. She’s dating Danny, a cool boy that most of the girls in her school would kill to go out with. But she’s completely miserable, because whether she wants to admit it to herself or not, she’s really in love with Danny’s glamorous twin, Wendy. Cary wants to be known for her retro-Audrey Hepburn look and her hot stoner boyfriend, not her possible attraction to girls. But the “Lesbian Collective”, a group of girls at school who are already comfortable with their sexuality are determined to “out” Cary. What’s a confused girl to do? Cary’s inner thoughts take the shape of Rad, an imaginary grunge god who consuls Cary by talking only in song lyrics(it’s pretty fun figuring out what song lines he’s using — I recognized quite a few by Tori Amos). But even he can’t get her out of the tough decisions that she has to make. Sounds tripped out, I know, but Shelley Stoehr is one of my all-time fav authors and this newest novel does not disappoint. If you like Wendy, you may also want to scan other S.S. novels like Wannabe and Weird on the Outside.

Noli looks like a guy. For sure, a cute thin guy, but a guy, nevertheless. Her mom is always on her back to act more girly. That’s why she’s so surprised when T.J., this super-fine transfer student picks her to be his new best bud. They do everything together, even dress alike, and pretty soon, Noli is in love. T.J. claims to dig her just as passionately as she does him, yet he’s pretty uninterested in taking their relationship to the next level, which for Noli means physical. When T.J. finally admits to Noli that he’s gay, the results are devastating. Don’t necessarily expect a happily-ever-after ending with this so-completely-true to life novel.