This blog is a collection of book reviews, submitted as a final project for San Jose State University's LIBR 267, taught in Spring 2010 by Professor Joni Bodart.

Michelle M Coleman

Monday, May 17, 2010

Geography Club by Brent Hartinger

Hartinger, Brent. Geography Club. Harper Tempest, 2003. ISBN-10: 0-06-001221-8


Summary
Russel is sure that he's the only gay kids at his small town high school, but he finds out that one of his message board friends lives in his small town. Russel confides in his friend, Min who he finds out is bisexual and is dating another student. With the addition of Min's girlfriend and another boy, a sort of gay support group is formed. To meet on campus, they'll need to be an actual club, but they're not ready to "out." Geography Club seems sufficiently boring.  When the school newspaper runs an article about the radical health teacher who mentions starting a group for gay students, the group worries that they've been outed. Fear threatens to break the group apart, but in the end the group expands to include other students who need support and renames themselves the gay-straight alliance.

Critical Evaluation
This simple book deals with the fear of coming out. Unfortunately, it perpetuates the idea that coming out is dangerous and to be feared. The characters are not exceptional, besides their sexual orientation. The story is basic and may be reassuring to those students who feel alone in their communities.

Reader's Annotation
Geography Club is just a front-- a club so boring that no one would join. That way, the gay students can have a safe place to meet. But even a boring club isn't a secret.

Bibliotherapeutic Usefulness
Useful to teens thinking of coming out, or to teens who suspect that their friends may be gay.

Genre and Subject
Realistic fiction. Coming out.

Why I chose it
I always regret not joining the GSA in high school. 

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