Boyfriends with Girlfriends

Annotation: A group of suburban teens all reconsider their sexuality when new friends become potential boyfriends and girlfriends and challenge each other’s established sexual identities.

Book Talk: By seventeen, you can assume you have your own sexuality all figured out…right?

“Did you ever hear of this famous doctor-dude named Kinsey? He did research on like hundreds of people back in the fifties. And he found that some people are super-straight, some are über-homo, and most people are actually somewhere in between.”

So what if you’re a girl with a steady boyfriend and you meet another girl who reminds you of a dream you once had, in which you maybe, kind of, felt a little attraction toward girls? And what if this new girl, who is definitely a lesbian, writes amazing poetry, shares your passion for manga and gives you a feeling that your boyfriend just isn’t able to anymore? Do you step out of your comfort zone and explore the possibilities with this new girl?

And what if you’ve been a proud gay boy for as far back as you can remember and, though you can be great friends with girls, thinking about them sexually is just not something you have any interest in whatsoever. Your first relationship didn’t go so well because your pseudo boyfriend wasn’t even out, let alone proud of his sexuality like you are, and to make matters worse, now he’s dating a girl! When you meet a new guy online and his profile info claims that he is “bi,” you assume he must just not be out yet. But what if he really is attracted to both boys and girls? Can you really trust him and accept that his sexual preferences aren’t identical to your own?

Maybe sexuality is way more complicated than simply gay or straight and a new person can challenge you to totally rethink everything you thought you already knew about your sexual identity.

Awards: None yet

Sanchez, Alex. Boyfriends with Girlfriends. New York: BFYR-Simon, 2011. N. pag. Print.

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