Brian Sloan

For some reason, even though I'd checked the book out of the library, I wasn't sure I wanted to read it. It's not that the premise wasn't good (two best friends relate their summer adventures to each other over the internet -- sexual exploits as well as the trauma of first loves, drama camp and driver's ed) nor was the way the book was written a turn off (written in the form of blog entries, written by both boys). I think I was afraid that the book wasn't going to be as self-aware as I like show more books written in a different format, to be. But luckily for me, Brian Sloan is a fantastic writer.

Tale of Two Summers turned out to be a really fun and engaging book. And, oh man, it was totally self-aware and in all the best ways. The story follows two boys, Charles (Chuck) and Hal, two best friends who are extremely close and are going to be apart for the first time in what seems like forever (Chuck says they haven't been separated since the 90s and the book takes place in 2006). Chuck sets up a blog before he goes to drama camp (he's really into singing and musicals) and manages to convince Hal (who has to stay in their hometown of Wheaton and takes driver's ed) to write in it. The entries are quite good, filled with detail and Sloan manages to keep the story flowing from entry to entry. Sure, we're reading blog entries, but they never felt like blog entries and I think that was essential to the book.

But Sloan also gives the book a bit of the twist. Hal recently came out to Chuck on New Year's Eve (some we learn about as the book goes on) and has a series of disastrous crushes. Both boys want relationships, or at least to get laid and that's part of what they blog about. Chuck develops crush on an exotic girl at his drama camp, while Hal meets a French boy named Henri. Both boys tell each other about their adventures in detail, but without making it seem formulaic or annoying, as diary-books often are. What I especially liked was how Sloan managed to keep us updated with things that happen when the two boys actually meet each other a few times during the summer.

Sloan also described the relationship between the two boys in a way that I haven't read before in gay literature where the best friend is a boy (who isn't also gay). I haven't read a lot, mind you, and I give Sloan a lot of credit for writing Chuck as the best friend who actually cares about Hal, without caring that he's gay. Sloan's created a strong bond between two boys, and in a way it takes a lot of guts to write a book like this -- especially considering how young the two characters are (15 and nearly 16). Some of the reviews I've read said that this wasn't quite realistic, and I totally agree with that. But, aside from that and a couple of things at the end, the book is throughly enjoyable. I applaud Sloan's effort and his book was a joy to read. So much so that I ended up staying up until 1:30 am one morning trying to finish it! show less

I really, really liked this book. I wasn't sure what to expect, except that I really liked one of Sloan's other books (Tale of Two Summers) and was curious to read more. A Really Nice Prom Mess was a lot more fun that I expected it to be. Cameron secretly dating the star football player, Shane, but obviously they can't do anything in public, so Cameron lets Shane talk him into going to prom with a girl named Virginia. Which seems kind of lame, and it is, but only because it's supposed to be. show more What happens on the way to prom and then later at prom is pretty hilarious. While Sloan's book is not really realistic (Russian drug dealers, a gay bar with strippers, and so on), it doesn't matter. What makes Sloan's book so good is that it's fun. It's fast paced (ala Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist or Boy Meets Boy) and the action never really stops -- which means all you can do is hang on and have fun. show less

Best friends Chuck and Hal separate for the summer. Chuck goes to drama camp and Hal remains in their hometown. They keep in touch with one another via daily blog entries and the reader follows their often hilarious romantic entanglements. This is not for the faint of heart, as sex is talked about all the time and often explicitly described, and Hal just came out and is exploring his first homosexual relationship. Though at times this was slow-moving, I think because the blog entries were so show more detailed, I found it very realistic. The two protagonists sounded like real teenage boys and their romances turned out about the way they would have in real life. show less

[review written 2011]

I’ve also been wanting to read A Really Nice Prom Mess for a while. It was good. In fact, it was really good. It was funny, wild, and better than I thought it would be - usually I don’t take kindly to books such as these, especially with the word prom in the title.

One thing that could be improved on was the repeated use of “f-g” and the fact that Cam seemed to need to keep reminding us he was gay, even though half the things in the book happened because of that show more fact. Otherwise, the book was rather well-done. show less