James Lecesne

I'm struggling with what to say about this one. For 75% of the book, I thought it was phenomenal. Great, believable, and engaging characters with powerful, worthwhile themes and scenes. Fantastic writing and pacing. I couldn't put it down, and didn't want to.

And then, in the last portion of the book, that shifted. All of a sudden, it felt like the story was being pulled in a lot of different directions, and the pacing was more frenetic and rushed than engaging. I also got less comfortable show more with the story--it was believable, but what had felt so natural to the first half of the book felt almost... left behind? As if what the reader cared most about and most engaged with was being pushed aside as less important. It's difficult to write about this without giving away the plot, which I don't want to do, but I can only compare it to the feeling when you're watching a beloved tv show, and all of a sudden the focus leaves one of your favorite characters behind in order to focus on someone else who you find a lot less engaging, interesting, or worthwhile. It's not that the turn isn't believable, but it's a certain weighting of priorities that might come across as annoying, or might, as it does here, come closer to feeling slightly offensive.

There's no other way to say it than for me to state simply that I was uncomfortable with the direction of the ending, and the way priorities/themes were showing up. It wasn't that it all wasn't believable... but it was disappointing.

At the same time, for 75% of this book, I couldn't get enough, and I'm sure others will read the ending differently (and more positively) than I did. I'll absolutely read more of Lecesne's work, and this book will stay with me for a while. show less

The Good Stuff

David Levithan's essay was so hilarious yet sweet and honest - will now be looking for some of his writing
A good mixture of humour, sadness and anger
The message of hope and forgiveness is so prevalent and beautifully and honestly done
Very powerful and inspiring
Brian Selznick's essay was extremely funny and tender
Martin Moran's essay is heartbreaking, so brave to have told his story - such strength of character and a very inspiring story to those LGBT youths with thoughts show more of suicide
Wise and non preachy advice for helping kids who are struggling with their sexuality
The Not So Good Stuff

Brutal to hear of parents & educators abuse of children over something as natural as sexual preference
Favorite Quotes/Passages

""I'm still not entirely sure whether I use the word irony correctly, but I believe there's something exquisitely ironic about making fun of your non-gay teacher for being gay, and then going home and listening to Barbara Streisand's Broadway Album over and over again." David Levithan

"Yes, the indignities you suffer at the hands of bigots can make you bitter. But they can also strengthen your ability to empathize with the oppressed, and in doing so, enlarge the capacity of your heart." Doug Wright

"You will discover that all gay men are not stylish, witty, promiscuous, and viciously entertaining. No one said that equality was going to be fun." Paul Rudnick

"I hear you say, I want to die, and it tears at my sould that you're only thirteen and ready to give up on life." and "No! Don't get back at everyone by dying. Get back at them by living and saving lives, starting with your own. Fight for your life." Mayra Lazara Dole

Who Should/Shouldn't Read

For teens of ALL genders and sexuality -- the message of believing and loving yourself apply to everyone and not just those struggling with their sexuality
My Uncle should have read this and maybe he would have loved and accepted his son no matter of Bruce's sexual preference. My cousin told his Dad that he was gay and my Uncle never spoke to him again. My Dad became a surrogate father to Bruce and tried to help him but ultimately Bruce's life was cut short by the acts of self-hatred and abuse (Drugs, alcohol, dangerous sexual partners, etc) caused by his fathers abandonment.
This should be in every public and school library so kids struggling can hear the message of hope that you will get through this from those who have
Required reading for ALL educators and parents
5 Dewey's

I received this from Scholastic in exchange for an honest review

My advice to my younger self

Michael Tinker is never going to go for you - get over him
Michael Corsini is MARRIED - he is scum for not telling you this -- but hey the man who ended up defending you and giving your friends hell - you end of marrying and having two beautiful heathens with him (And BTW he's moving you to Calgary next month so you might want to think about getting over your hatred of country music)
Stop with the diet pills, they are going to fuck up your digestive system for life -- you are beautiful the way you are
Stop pretending to be someone else so people will like you -- accept who you are and love yourself for that and people will actually like the real you
Don't sleep with all those divers -- they are not going to love you -- they just want in your pants and you will hate yourself for it
Don't have a fight with your Dad the night before he goes on vacation to Bermuda -- he dies there and you will not be able to tell him you are sorry and how lucky you were to have such an exceptional (and completely wacky) guy for a Dad
Get over your fear of driving (sorry snorter porter -- you still got to work on that one)
What that man did was wrong, he abused his position of power and it was not your fault!
For gods sake you are smart enough to go to University and become a Librarian - tell that nasty voice in your head to piss off (cause quite frankly Librarians get paid way more than the Library Technician you became) show less

We’ve all heard of the people who find Jesus or The Virgin Mary in a grilled cheese or a slice of toast. We’ve heard of these things becoming internet phenomena, being sold on eBay, attracting millions.

VIRGIN TERRITORY, the latest from James Lecesne, is the story of a guy who gets wrapped up in the latest Blessed Virgin Mary hullabaloo when her face supposedly appears on a tree at the half-rate golf course where he works as a caddy. Of course, Dylan — named for Bob Dylan, his mom’s show more favorite poet and singer — is confused that so many people from around the country would travel to Jupiter, Florida to see the BVM (as her followers sometimes call her) and ask for a miracle. To Dylan, it’s just a tree with a funny scar on it. But then he meets Angela, a girl unlike any girl he has ever met. And she inducts him into the Virgin Club, a club with two rules: You must “a) want something and b) take a risk.”

Together, Dylan, Angela, Desiree, and Crispy begin a summer of mischief. Which is fine with Dylan — he’s had nothing to do since his father, Doug, took away his computer and with it his internet access, due to certain indiscretions with a much older and sexily screennamed e-pal. And aside from Doug and his grandmother who lives in the place due to her quickly progressing Alzheimer’s, it’s not like Dylan has anyone else to hang out with. He hasn’t heard from his supposed best friend in weeks. So The Virgin Club it is.

Soon, though, Dylan realizes that he’s falling in love with Angela, and Crispy is telling him she can’t be trusted. Dylan’s grandfather, Marie, is escaping the place more often than usual, resulting in city-wide searches for the elderly woman. And Dylan’s boss, a former golf pro just one slip away from his next stint in rehab, is willing to do just about anything to get the “Holy Rollers” off his property so he can get back to business as usual. It’s not long before Dylan starts to empathize with the BVM-followers, realizing that all these people have a story. Remembering his mom, Kat, who died when he was little, changing his life for ever, Dylan has to wonder how their lives would have been different if she were still around.

This is a lovely story, filled with charm and insight, with a fun and eclectic cast of characters who feel like your friends by the time you turn the last page. The setting is brilliant — you can almost feel the humidity of Jupiter, Florida as you read, following The Virgin Club’s antics. Not quite a love story, not quite a family drama, VIRGIN TERRITORY is an entertaining and heartfelt look at a pocket of our culture that so often gets swept under the rug. It’s definitely worth checking out! show less

Absolute Brightness by James Lecesne is the story of sixteen-year-old Phoebe and the year her younger cousin Leonard changed the lives of her family forever. Phoebe lives with her older sister Diedre and their mother in suburban New Jersey. She works the phone in her mother's hair salon, making appointments for a wide range of drab housewives and widows, women who've not changed their hairstyle in decades.

Enter Leonard, Phoebe's "cousin" by marriage, who has no where else to go once his show more step-father decides he can no longer keep him on his Mexican cattle ranch. 13 going on 14, Leonard is flamboyant. There is a scene in Tony Kushner's play Angels in American where a woman asks the lead character if he is a "typical homosexual." He replies "Honey, I'm STEREOtypical!" This applies to young Leonard. Leonard longs for a pair of rainbow platform sandals but can't find one. So he takes eight pairs of neon flip flops, cuts off the thong part, superglues the mutli-colored soles together and valois, he has a pair of rainbow platform sandals. To Phoebe's dismay, he then wears them everywhere, even to school.

Leonard is an instant hit at the hair salon. He knows exactly how to improve each customer's look. Though his suggestions seem a bit extreme, he has such a winning personality that he is able to convince all of the regular customers to follow his advice. Soon every little old lady in town has a new simple black dress, because a woman needs a simple black dress no matter what her age. You never know.

It's clear from the cover that all is not going to go well for Leonard--"Once Leonard Pelkey disappeared, he was everywhere." But I came to like Leonard so much that I hoped the author would chicken out, and keep Leonard around. No such luck. One night, Leonard goes out for a few hours and does not come back. It's only afterward that Phoebe can see how poorly she treated him. He was an intrusion on her family and he was so over-the-top all of the time that she tried to ignore him as much as possible. For his part, Leonard saw Phoebe as a friend, admired her, wanted her to like him.

In the second half of the novel, as each character reacts to Leonard's disappearance, Absolute Brightness becomes a picture of how such an event affects everyone involved. James Lecesne turns what was a comedy into a mystery thriller that is also a believable and profound character study. Pheobe and Diedre are teenagers going through the typical teenage stuff; Leonard upsets their paths, both by his presence and then by his absence. In the end, Mr. Lecesne has written one of the better Young Adult novels I've read in some time, one of the best gay themed novels I've read this year. show less