TIPS ON HAVING A GAY (EX) BOYFRIEND

This touching tale about a teenage girl whose boyfriend turns out to be gay is marred by prose that is seemingly unedited. Belle and Dylan have been dating for two devoted years of high school and have known each other forever. In fact, everyone in this tiny Maine town has known each other forever and knows everything about everyone. When Dylan reveals that he’s gay, Belle’s world crumples. They made love in her bed after school; they sang songs to her guitar. Who is she now, without him? Who is anyone? What other lies has she believed? Belle’s healing is facilitated when Tom—another long-time schoolmate—reveals his strong feelings for her. Tom is a brown-eyed prince, and Belle finds a deliciously forceful lust moving her along. Jones blessedly avoids the usual cliché of the gay boy getting bashed, though some violence emerges in another direction. Clumsy comma splices and absences, along with awkward repetition, distract from an emotional story that’s otherwise true at heart. (Fiction. YA)