The New York Times Book Review - Jeff Chu
Characters have worn masks and wrestled with the consequences, in works as similar but divergent as Twelfth Night and There's Something About Mary. Openly Straight is a thoughtful, modern spin on that venerable device, and it works because of Rafe…Rafe feels real. He's convincingly teenage. He's smart but never too articulate. He's searching but not always finding what he thinks he's looking for…Konigsberg's lovely novel invites us to walk with Rafe through his season of assumed identity and his costly emergence into honesty. It's beautiful. It's a story of salvation.
Publishers Weekly
Konigsberg (Out of the Pocket) raises compelling questions about stereotyping and self-actualization through the story of openly gay high school junior Rafe Goldberg. Though Rafe has a supportive family and community in progressive Boulder, Co., he still feels stifled by being known as "the gay kid." In order to try to live a "label-free life," Rafe transfers to an East Coast boarding school with the intention of keeping his sexuality a secret ("The only way I would actually lie was if I were asked directly, ‘Are you gay?' "). At school, Rafe is quickly befriended by a group of jocks, and even kissed by a girl at a party, but he begins to question his experiment when his feelings for a friend develop into something more. Introspective essays Rafe composes about his life for a writing seminar seem overly scripted, and the plot becomes predictable long before Rafe faces a crisis of conscience. Even so, Rafe's story about seeking a different kind of acceptance should spur readers to rethink sexual identity and what it means to be "out." Ages 14–up. Agent: Linda Epstein, Jennifer DeChiara Literary Agency. (June)
From the Publisher
Praise for Openly Straight:Winner of the Sid Fleischman Award for HumorYALSA Best Fiction for Young Adults SelectionLambda Literary Award Finalist"Funny, unexpected, peppered with terrific dialogue — and best of all, achingly honest." — Ned Vizzini, author of It's Kind of a Funny Story and House of Secrets"For anybody who ever wished they could be someone else (and who hasn't?), Openly Straight provides a fun and intriguing, twisting-and-turning romp through sexuality, identity, friendship, and love." — Alex Sanchez, author of Rainbow Boys and Boyfriends with Girlfriends"Bill Konigsberg hands a great high concept to a really compelling narrator and presents us with a terrific read. Openly Straight is smart, funny, and unflinching. Read this book." — Chris Crutcher, author of Deadline, Whale Talk, and Period 8"Konigsberg's lovely novel invites us to walk with Rafe through his season of assumed identity and his costly emergence into honesty. It's beautiful. It's a story of salvation." — The New York Times Book Review* "Lambda Literary Award-winner Konigsberg has written an exceptionally intelligent, thought-provoking, coming-of-age novel about the labels people apply to us and that we, perversely, apply to ourselves... Openly Straight is altogether one of the best gay-themed novels of the last ten years." — Booklist, starred review* "Readers and discussion groups looking for new and deeper ways to think about what it means to live honestly in a world that sorts by labels will find this fresh and evocative." — The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books, starred review"For a thought-provoking, creative, twenty-first-century take on the coming-out story, look no further." — The Horn Book Magazine"An original, thought-provoking, hilarious story about the importance of embracing your true identity, and the cost to yourself and others when you don't." — Julie Ann Peters, author of Luna and Keeping You a Secret"Openly Straight sports a sharp plot with a twist, sympathetic (and totally hot) characters, and universal appeal. It's a must-read for openly everyone!" — Lisa McMann, bestselling author of the Wake TrilogyPraise for Honestly Ben:"To characterize Honestly Ben (even though labeling feels so wrong after reading this book), I would first call it hilarious. But also touching! And absolutely necessary." — Jay Asher, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Thirteen Reasons Why and What Light* "Konigsberg has again done a remarkable job developing characters and inviting readers to consider the meaning of friendship with all its rewards and challenges. Extremely well written, this novel of ideas is deeply satisfying and as honest as its appealing protagonist." — Booklist, starred review* "Well-rounded characters take readers from serious, thoughtful discussions to typical teen pranks with ease . . . Equal parts serious and funny as it addresses homophobia, hazing rituals, and cheating while also delighting readers with a slice-of-life tale set at a private academy." — School Library Journal, starred review* "Konigsberg again realistically explores what happens when one's self butts up against . . . the world's expectations and assumptions . . . The result is a refreshingly honest exploration of modern relationships and an understanding that love can take many shapes and forms." — Publishers Weekly, starred review"Honestly Ben is funny, complex, joyful, heartbreaking, and exceedingly wise all at once. A teenager with any question about the right way to live couldn't ask for a better read." — Geoff Herbach, author of Anything You Want and Stupid Fast"It's hard to write a good sequel, keeping what people loved about the first book, but adding something fresh and new. Not surprisingly, Bill Konigsberg pulls it off wonderfully in Honestly Ben." — Brent Hartinger, author of Geography Club and Three Truths and a LiePraise for The Porcupine of Truth:Winner of the Stonewall Book AwardWinner of the PEN Center USA Literary Award for Children's/Young AdultA YALSA Best Fiction for Young Adults Selection"Words like 'brilliant' are so overused when praising novels—so I won't use that word. I'll just think it." — Benjamin Alire Sáenz, author of Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe"Bill Konigsberg's The Porcupine of Truth is at once heartwarming and heartbreaking, a funny and thought-provoking road trip with remarkable friends Carson and Aisha, who share tough lessons about mending fractures, forging bonds, and discovering grace. Undeniably human and unforgettably wise, this book is a gift for us all." — Andrew Smith, author of Grasshopper Jungle and Winger* "Konigsberg weaves together a masterful tale of uncovering the past, finding wisdom, and accepting others as well as oneself." — School Library Journal, starred review* "Konigsberg... crafts fascinating, multidimensional teen and adult characters. A friendship between a straight boy and a lesbian is relatively rare in YA fiction and is, accordingly, exceedingly welcome." — Booklist, starred review"Equal parts funny and profound." — Kirkus Reviews
School Library Journal
★ 12/01/2017
Gr 9 Up—While high school jock Rafe is okay with being gay, he's tired of being the go-to LGBT celebrity in his supportive Colorado town. He transfers to an East Coast all-boys school where he pretends to be straight. But his regular guy act crumbles when he falls for an intense, handsome classmate. Rafe realizes his desire to avoid labels is destroying his chance for an emotionally honest relationship. Throughout, Konigsberg threads a winning humor that helps to mellow a tendency toward earnestness. Narrator Pete Cross is the ideal voice for this story, as he delivers age-appropriate characterizations with verve and nuance. VERDICT Recommended for high school and public libraries.—Kelly Sinclair, Temple Public Library, TX
APRIL 2017 - AudioFile
Rafe, who’s been out since he was 14, escapes labeling by leaving Colorado for a private boy’s school in New England. From the first, Pete Cross’s narration describes the high spirits of Rafe and his family. His loving mother is overly involved and well intentioned. His father is jokey as he records this big event. Rafe teases his parents affably as he prepares for his great new adventure. The humor continues outwardly throughout the book, but Cross undercuts it with Rafe’s uncomfortable inner feelings. Cross depicts how Rafe blithely joins jock clubs and masks his former self. When a sensitive teacher urges him to write honestly, Cross’s delivery reflects how Rafe wrestles with honesty, hides truths in a romantic relationship, and finally faces the painful path to becoming his real self. S.W. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award © AudioFile 2017, Portland, Maine
Kirkus Reviews
Going back into the closet isn't as easy as it seems. Coloradan Rafe Goldberg has always been the token gay kid. He's been out since eighth grade. His parents and community are totally supportive, and his mom is president of his Boulder-area chapter of Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays. On the outside, Rafe seems fine, but on the inside, he's looking for change, which comes with the opportunity to reinvent himself at the prestigious Natick Academy in Massachusetts. There for his junior year, Rafe cloaks his gayness in order to be just like one of the other guys. He hangs out with the jocks, playing soccer and football, and gets exactly what he wants--until he starts to fall for one of his new best straight friends. Konigsberg's latest (Out Of the Pocket, 2008) might sound like fluff, but it actually works as a complicated, poignant story of a teenage boy trying on a new skin. Rafe's exploration happens in reverse of the traditional coming-out story, and his motives, observations and feelings are captured in mini-essays he pens for his creative-writing professor, who then provides him with life-coach–like feedback on both his decisions and his writing skills. These snippets feel prescriptive, but the rest moves swiftly as Rafe tries to cover his feelings and fit in with his new friends. An eye-opening story of wish fulfillment. (Fiction. 13 & up)
