Uh-oh, it looks like your Internet Explorer is out of date.
For a better shopping experience, please upgrade now.
Openly Straight
The award-winning novel about being out, being proud, and being ready for something else.
Rafe is a normal teenager from Boulder, Colorado. He plays soccer. He's won skiing prizes. He likes to write.
And, oh yeah, he's gay. He's been out since 8th grade, and he isn't teased, and he goes to other high schools and talks about tolerance and stuff. And while that's important, all Rafe really wants is to just be a regular guy. Not that GAY guy. To have it be a part of who he is, but not the headline, every single time.
So when he transfers to an all-boys' boarding school in New England, he decides to keep his sexuality a secret not so much going back in the closet as starting over with a clean slate. But then he sees a classmate breaking down. He meets a teacher who challenges him to write his story. And most of all, he falls in love with Ben... who doesn't even know that love is possible.
1113367900
Openly Straight
The award-winning novel about being out, being proud, and being ready for something else.
Rafe is a normal teenager from Boulder, Colorado. He plays soccer. He's won skiing prizes. He likes to write.
And, oh yeah, he's gay. He's been out since 8th grade, and he isn't teased, and he goes to other high schools and talks about tolerance and stuff. And while that's important, all Rafe really wants is to just be a regular guy. Not that GAY guy. To have it be a part of who he is, but not the headline, every single time.
So when he transfers to an all-boys' boarding school in New England, he decides to keep his sexuality a secret not so much going back in the closet as starting over with a clean slate. But then he sees a classmate breaking down. He meets a teacher who challenges him to write his story. And most of all, he falls in love with Ben... who doesn't even know that love is possible.
The award-winning novel about being out, being proud, and being ready for something else.
Rafe is a normal teenager from Boulder, Colorado. He plays soccer. He's won skiing prizes. He likes to write.
And, oh yeah, he's gay. He's been out since 8th grade, and he isn't teased, and he goes to other high schools and talks about tolerance and stuff. And while that's important, all Rafe really wants is to just be a regular guy. Not that GAY guy. To have it be a part of who he is, but not the headline, every single time.
So when he transfers to an all-boys' boarding school in New England, he decides to keep his sexuality a secret not so much going back in the closet as starting over with a clean slate. But then he sees a classmate breaking down. He meets a teacher who challenges him to write his story. And most of all, he falls in love with Ben... who doesn't even know that love is possible.
Bill Konigsberg is the author of six books for young adults, which have won awards including the Stonewall Book Award, the Sid Fleischman Award for Humor, and the Lambda Literary Award. Bill lives with his husband, Chuck, and their two Labradoodles, Mabel and Buford. Please visit him online at billkonigsberg.com and @billkonigsberg.
Read an Excerpt
From OPENLY STRAIGHTAs I stuffed my second empty duffel bag into the dorm closet, I decided on a shower, since I smelled like my expiration date had come and gone weeks ago. A guy zoomed by the doorway, then I heard the footsteps slow and stop. "Hey, guy," he said. "We're gettin' a game going downstairs, do you...holy Jesus!?"What?" I said."You look just like Schroeder.""From Peanuts?""What? No. This kid. Graduated last year. You could be his brother. I'm the first to tell you that?" the guy said, revealing a flawless set of pearly, white teeth.I smiled back, dazzled by him. I hoped I wasn't blushing. "You're the first to tell me anything. You're the first person I've met here.""You're kidding. Well, we're playing touch football, could use another player or two," he said. "You comin'?""Um, sure," I said. Showering could definitely wait.
As a senior librarian at Teen’Scape, the young adult department at the Los Angeles Public Library, Mary McCoy is an expert on all things YA. And this month, she added the title of author to her resume. McCoy’s vivid, clever, heart-pounding debut, Dead to Me, is set in 1940s Hollywood, aka the Golden Age. Of course, any […]
Throughout the holiday season, we’re gathering books that make the perfect gifts for everyone on your list—from your mother and the teen in your life to your foodie friend and the coworker who loves Harry Potter. Need more ideas? Check out all of our guides. Teenagers can be among the trickiest species on Earth to understand, but […]
Young adult fiction is constantly evolving, but when it comes to including more diversity, sometimes it feels like it’s moving at a glacial pace. Authors like David Levithan (Boy Meets Boy, Two Boys Kissing) and Malinda Lo (Ash, Huntress) are always reliable sources of diversity in YA characters, and here are 8 other lesbian, gay, […]
As many authors will tell you, the only thing harder than writing a book is writing a second book. Once expectations have been set and reviews have come in and deadlines are breathing down your neck, trying to get those words out can be like squeezing blood from a stone. Sometimes it feels like an […]