Brendan Halpin

I have so much to say about this book, so let’s go.

The book is told through a split first person POV, alternating between Lucas and Tessa, both of who are our main characters. They’ve been best friends since they were little, and they work in Tessa’s parents’ store together. Lucas is a baseball star, Tessa is one of the town’s sweethearts, and everyone assumes they’re gonna get together eventually. Including Lucas.

So he plans a big gesture asking her to prom, and she refuses, coz show more she’s gay, and he had no idea.

So far so good, I guess, but literally a few chapters into the book and we already have a problem here.

Lucas, rather than being a good human being who actually understands his best friend’s predicament, calls her selfish and gets angry at her, and literally outs her to the entire town because she refuses to go to prom with him coz she’s gay. Her parents’ store is boycotted because they live in a very conservative town, and Tessa is warned by the school board that if she intends on taking a girl with her to prom, she would not be allowed entry, even though she’s a senior and is leaving the next year. Literally, Lucas brings some of the worst moments of her life on his supposed ‘best friend’.

However, Lucas’s mother manages to talk him into actually trying to fix things, which he does. With some help, he manages to organize a Big Gay Prom in an abandoned warehouse, and it goes super well. Tessa forgives Lucas, and the story ends with them discussing college plans and their life after they graduate high school.

Sweet, right?

Yeah, maybe a bit unrealistic too.

In what universe, pray tell, would someone who is part of the LGBT community, ever forgive someone who outed them? When? I don’t care how big the gesture for forgiveness is: you never out someone, and that someone will probably never forgive you in return. Outing someone before they’re ready, and in malicious intent, is a big deal and can ruin your life. I know enough people who are part of the LGBT community to tell you that this novel is insanely inaccurate in the portrayal of Lucas and Tessa’s friendship after he outs her. Trust the narrative to be in favour of the straight man who comes in and saves the day.

It reminds me a bit too much of what happened to Santana on Glee after she was outed by Finn and had to deal with the repercussions, and then STILL forgave him for what he did. Total bullshit.

Final rating: 2/5. This book is essentially a what happens when you let straight people write queer fiction. It ain’t really worth it. Don’t bother unless you have nothing else to read. show less

Lucas and Tessa have been best friends since grade school, and everyone seems to be waiting for the pair of them to start dating. Lucas decides to ask Tessa to the prom in a big way, and it backfires when Tessa tells him that she's been keeping a secret from him - she's a lesbian. Lucas is hurt, and soon it gets out (partially due to Lucas) that Tessa is a lesbian, she wants to take a girl to the prom, and she wants to wear a tuxedo to the prom. This ignites a homophobic uproar, and it looks show more like Tessa might not get to go to the prom at all - and that her friendship with Lucas is broken beyond repair.

I am so happy that this generation of LGBTQ youth have books like this available to them. Not too long ago (about 15 years ago, before I had even heard of the internet), I was in a similar situation to Tessa. My best friend (who happened to be a gay guy) and I wanted to go to the prom together - except with me in the tux and him in the dress. Unfortunately, we didn't keep that too secret, and the principal stated that if anyone came to the prom in "non-gender-conforming" clothing, we'd be expelled for the rest of the year. And since my best friend and I both had full-ride scholarships to college and couldn't wait to get the heck out of that backwards town, we stayed home and played video games instead (I have to say that playing Super Mario Kart until 3am hyped up on Mountain Dew and candy probably was much more fun than the prom, had we attended it).

So I can totally relate to this book. Every insult that Tessa endured (and there were a lot of them), it almost felt as if it was directed at me (and many of them had been in the past). The book, as a consequence, was kind of a hard read. But I loved how everything worked out in the end, and I felt some weird form of vindication at the end of it.

Definitely recommended. show less

Last year, I read Notes from the Blender by Brendan Halpin and Trish Cook. It was completely adorable, with excellent teen characters and touching on real issues. Halpin has done it again, this time partnering with Emily Franklin.

Multiple points of view can either be amazing in a book or completely awful; there doesn't seem to be too much of an in between. Both of Halpin's books that I have read are great examples of good ways to do it. Of course, it's a bit easier with two authors, each show more writing their own character. Still, I love it entirely, because it gives both of the characters their own unique voices.

The opening scenes, where Luke becomes convinced that Tessa is crushing on him, are absurd but in a totally true-to-life way. His analysis is way off, obviously, but who's isn't? He starts evaluating everything, reading only the things that add up to the answer he expects to find. Of course, none of this would have happened without the prodding of other people. This is clearly an argument against matchmaking.

The controversy about whether Tessa and Josie should be allowed to go to the Prom just makes me fighting mad. I mean, how could that possibly hurt anyone else? Of course, even worse is that I know there's a book about this because things like this really happen, because so many people in this country are still so parochial that they think it matters who people fall in love with. Come on, America, get over it! Oh, and at this point, I need to include a fantastic quote from Luke's part of the narration; keep in mind that it could be different in the final copy of the book:

"There are people who think I'm a hero because I'm standing up for biblical values. Like I've ever read the Bible in my life. Maybe if I did, I could find the part about how making a girl's life into a living hell is something that God thinks you should do."

Really, this was just the sweetest book. I completely love the message, one of acceptance and open-mindedness. There's no hating on Christianity or religion in general. Halpin and Franklin aren't trying to demonize anyone. I want to add a copy of this to my personal library and shelve it metaphorically next to Will Grayson, Will Grayson, though not literally, because I shelve alphabetically by author. This book made me cry and laugh out loud. Not many do that.

Now, go listen to some Lady GaGa (aka Miss Kaboom) and let your freak flag fly, be it what it may. We're all better when we're ourselves! show less

I had the pleasure of reading an advance copy of “Tessa Masterson Goes to Prom” because, well … I'm cool like that. (Stop laughing. That shtick got me this far, sweetheart. The point is, I got to read it before you did and therefore, get to tell you how kick-ass it is.)

A simple plot summary might suggest that “Tessa...” is merely a ripped-from-the-headlines retelling of the events surrounding Constance McMillan's 2010 Mississippi prom controversy. However, in the deft hands of show more Brendan Halpin and Emily Franklin, Tessa's characters come alive and the story becomes something unique, specific and utterly delightful.

Set against the backdrop of conservative small town which is slowly disintegrating, Tessa and her best friend Lucas struggle with questions of honesty and love. The poignant relationship between the pair, best friends since early childhood, was for me, a reminder of that bittersweet moment in time when romantic interests first overthrow the deep bonds of friendship in their emotional importance.

The big messages here are those of acceptance and loyalty. It's not hit-you-over-the-head stuff, but clearly woven through the unfolding events in a manner that should be accessible for both the intended Young Adult audience and the adult readers who love them. As a cultural commentary, I can only hope that this lovely little book will feel dated within the next decade, and be read then as a peek into what it was like BEFORE.

Halpin shines here (as always) with his ability to create teenage characters who walk, talk, think and behave like teenagers. It is one of the things which drew me to his work initially and one of the things which keeps me coming back.

“Tessa Masterson Will Go To Prom” has taken up residence on my bookshelf, and not the casually overstuffed bookshelf in the bedroom, but the Here-To-Stay shelf in the living room. In this house, that's saying something. Mostly, it says, “These are the books we DON'T want the dog to pee on.” but in the story of our lives, that's kinda important. show less