Like we can’t be both those things in the same room with people in the same way at the same time.įor Rafe, mainly this had to do with how he felt other guys perceived him as an out gay kid. The idea that sometimes parts of us that feel incongruent with other parts of ourselves resonated with me. It’s not just about coming out or how we sometimes distill a person’s identity down to one thing. OPENLY STRAIGHT explores elements of identity not often explored in the YA I’ve read. This book has been on my reading list for a LONG time, but once I realized it’s by the same author as THE MUSIC OF WHAT HAPPENS, I really wanted to read it. This witty, smart, coming-out-again story will appeal to gay and straight kids alike as they watch Rafe navigate feeling different, fitting in, and what it means to be himself. who doesn’t even know that love is possible. And most of all, he falls in love with Ben. He meets a teacher who challenges him to write his story.

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. To have it be a part of who he is, but not the headline, every single time. And while that’s important, all Rafe really wants is to just be a regular guy. 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. He likes to write.Īnd, oh yeah, he’s gay. Rafe is a normal teenager from Boulder, Colorado. Published Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads About Openly Straight

Openly Straight by Bill Konigsberg