My thanks to NetGalley for my ARC.
Rafe came out to his very accepting parents at a young age. His mom even threw him a party! He was never bullied in his liberal Colorado school and he enjoyed an active social life that included his best friend Claire Olivia. Sounds ideal in a world of bullied teens and tragic stories. Rafe however, is tired of being looked at by everyone as "the gay guy" and not just Rafe who happens to be gay. So he devises a plan to transfer to an elite all boys prep school in Massachusetts and live as one of the guys. He won't tell anyone he's gay, but he won't tell anyone he's straight. Or at least that is the plan. He just wants to be accepted without the label and he insists he is not going back in the closet. Or course best laid plans don't always go accordingly, and there is no pun in that statement. Especially when Rafe develops feelings for Ben, a straight (or is he bi?) student at Nattuck.
I will admit this book made me a bit angry when I first began to get into Rafe's story. Rafe himself is extremely self centered and his oblivious, "no big deal" attitude towards hiding a key part of who he was in order to impress some real jerks grated on me. But then, that was the point wasn't it? I got Rafe's initial motivation. He was never bullied, but everyone made assumptions about him according to the fact that he was openly gay. For instance, teachers would direct specific civil right questions towards Rafe in hopes of getting a "gay perspective". Straight guys would randomly ask him if they would be considered attractive. This is the sort of naive but well intentioned dialogue I'm sure even the best of us have tripped into when dealing with a friend who is different. For Rafe, it was distracting from who he was other than gay.
So, Rafe goes to Nattuck and claims he won't comment on his sexuality one was or the other. Except he tells the guys that Claire Olivia is his girlfriend. When asked directly, he doesn't come out to his roommate's gay best friend Tobias (who has had his share of bullying at the hands of some of Rafe's jock friends) and he certainly isn't honest with Ben when the two begin to skirt the lines between friendship and a relationship. So yeah, Rafe IS actually back in the closet and very dishonest, which makes his entire "experiment" feel like a vanity project at times.
I felt so embarrassed for Ben, who was just figuring our where he stood on attraction. He really felt that Rafe was experiencing the same thing with him at the same time, and it made me very angry at the protagonist. Rafe didn't lie to Ben in order to seduce him, but Ben was missing the entirety of Rafe's story...while Ben himself was sweetly candid at all times. Also, Rafe didn't bully anyone persee, but there was at least one time when I felt like he was a bystander. Of course as time goes on, this all changes.
The thing is, Rafe is called out for his selfishness. Claire Olivia sees it. His parents see it. Rafe himself eventually realizes that his dishonesty not only hurt the people he loved but himself. I liked that, because I wanted to reach through the pages and hit him myself at a few points.
Openly Straight cracks the door open for a bunch of questions that are not often brought up in everyday dialog let alone a YA novel. What is attraction? Can you fall in love with a person without the stigma of sexuality? Why are western guys so uncomfortable around other guys while other cultures past and present celebrated close masculine relationships. In fact, I really wish the book went a little more into the idea of omni/pan sexuality as there is a need to understand that you don't always find yourself attracted to who you think. I was impressed that the idea of male bisexuality was brought up at all. I can't say that I recall any book which touches upon that idea.
Most importantly, Openly Straight discusses love. Not just love in a relationship, but love between friends and family. Early on in the book I had to skip to the end in order to decide if I could handle all the anger I was feeling towards Rafe's behavior. What I read was honest and well thought out. Like in "If you could be mine" another LGBT themed book I had reviewed, there were no easy answers, but I expect they were honest. And in the end that is the lesson Rafe learned for his heartbreak. Be who you are. Be honest about it. If you can accept that person and you have the support of those you love, you are already well on your way
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