So while reading up on LGBT writers, Alex Sanchez came up a
few times. While Rainbow Boys is one of his more popular novels, I chose to begin with Boyfriends with Girlfriends. Review and summary after the jump.
Four teens explore
the fluidity of love, sexuality, and identity in this acclaimed novel from Alex
Sanchez, now in paperback.Sergio is bisexual, but his only real relationship
was with a girl. Lance has always known he was gay, but he's never had a real boyfriend.
When the two of them meet, they have an instant connection--but will it be
enough to overcome their differences? Allie's been in a relationship with a guy
for the last two years--but when she meets Kimiko, she can't get her out of her
mind. Does this mean she's gay? Or bi? Kimiko, falling hard for Allie, is
willing to stick around and help Allie figure it out."Boyfriends with
Girlfriends" is Alex Sanchez at his best, writing with a sensitive hand to
portray four very real teens striving to find their places in the world--and
with each other.
This is not an allegorical story. What you see is what you
get. It’s a love story, but one mostly directed towards teens. I felt a bit of
the same way reading this as I did with David Levithan’s Boy Meets Boy. The relationships portrayed, while very realistic
are after all young adult relationships, focusing on points that only young
couples falling in love for the first time deal with. That is not to say, that I
find the characters two-dimensional and shallow, just the opposite. They’re richly
described and they believe that the hurdles they face are the most difficult
thing ever. They are not caricatures of themselves. Allie’s struggle to come to
terms with her sexuality, Lance’s difficulty accepting Sergio for the way he
is; these are problems every person deals with, and it makes the characters
more likeable. The characters all have a few flaws and the story progresses at
a slow pace at some points, while other things are skimmed over a bit too
quickly in my opinion. I’d actually like to know what happened to the
characters after this novel. It’s perhaps not the best LGBT book for people
over 25, but it’s a good starting point for a younger generation who wants to
read about LGBT relationships.
You can buy the book (as well as all the others mentioned)
here
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