Geography Club
Brent Hartinger
(Reviewer - Rebecca Brown)
2003 HarperTempest
ISBN: 0060012218

A sophomore does his best to fit in at high school, doing his utmost to appear one of the boys.

Russel Middlebrook has a secret crush on the baseball jock, Kevin Land. When his online gay-chat buddy turns out to be none other than the popular Kevin, they strike up a friendship outside of school.

In the cafeteria each day one boy, Brian, is ferociously picked on. Russel & his best friend, Min, talk about that often, & when Russel can no longer sit by doing nothing, he decides to eat at the lonely nerd's table. There he discovers an unlikely friend.

Soon Russel is meeting other gay students: brainy Min reveals she's bisexual, & that her soccer-playing girlfriend, Terese is also. & there's Terese's politically active friend, Ike.

How can kids this diverse get together without drawing attention to themselves? They decide to choose a club that is “so boring, nobody in their right mind would ever in a million years join it. We could call it a ‘Geography Club’!”

How this group become friends & work through (or not) their differences, makes for gripping reading. Brent Hartinger has something to say, & does it well. Teens, both gay & straight, will find Geography Club intriguing & familiar territory. It is fast paced, funny, & a telling portrait of contemporary teenagers as they maneuver through the treacherous social terrain of a typical American high school & the even more rocky landscape of the human heart.

These young adults, testing their maturity, are all likable & flawed, like everyone, & totally believable.

Could not put Geography Club down! For ages 12-17.

Brent Hartinger helped found Oasis, a support group for gay & lesbian young people, in his hometown of Tacoma, Washington. Also a talented playwright, he lives near Seattle with his partner, writer Michael Jensen.

Do catch my Interview with Brent Hartinger.

More from Brent Hartinger: The Last Chance Texaco & watch for our Interview.

Visit “Brian's Brain” at: www.brenthartinger.com. (09/26/04)

Rebecca