Perhaps Emily Gilmore was right, when she said on my beloved television show Gilmore Girls, “There’s nothing funny about being a lesbian.”
Yes, I attempted to read yet another YA GLBTQ romance, and once again my efforts failed miserably. Unfortunately, I think I have already exhausted this genre, having blasted through all of the Julie Anne Peters and David Levithan oeuvres already. I was hoping to try out a new author, in the hopes that I would find some variety and a refreshing perspective. So far, aside from Sara Ryan, most of the other GLBTQ romances I have read were by ‘one hit wonder’ authors who wrote boring books and were never to be heard from again. It looks like “Gravel Queen” is not much different.
In “Gravel Queen,” Aurin lives in sleepy Greensboro, North Carolina, and is spending her summer vacation at the park with her ‘kooky’ friends – attention whore Kenney, queeny Fred, and new additions football star Grant, and Neila – the object of Aurin’s affection. Neila happens upon them during a game of ultimate Frisbee in the park, and the budding romance between Aurin and Neila throws off the balance of their group. As Aurin and Neila spend more and more time together in dance class, parking lots, neighborhood parks, and each other’s living rooms, Kenney feels left out, and Fred laments even more over his crush on Grant. While the premise is a fairly realistic imagination of the drama between teenage groups of friends, the problem with it is that NOTHING HAPPENS. Aurin and Neila meet cute, exchange a whole lot of longing glances, kiss once or twice, and live happily ever after.
Similar to the endless descriptions of nature and flowers in “Seventeenth Summer,” “Gravel Queen” spends much of its time describing the butterflies, bubbles and other random items Aurin feels in her gut whenever she looks at Neila. I found myself saying, “Enough already, kids, just make out!” Yes, it’s adorable and refreshing that these kids are happy to be young and gay, but there was no conflict whatsoever in this novel, rendering it dreadfully boring. I understand what Benduhn was going for here – no coming out drama, no angst over questioning one’s sexuality, no kids beating each other up or being beaten by their parents because they’re gay. But when you’re fifteen, everything is dramatic, no matter how small the problem seems – at least her characters could act their age and put some umph into falling in love. And if they’re not going to be dramatic about it, they could at least have a sense of humor.
Despite all of my efforts to find a GLBTQ novel for teens that really speaks to the culture of contemporary teenagers, this one isn’t it, and it just fuels my misunderstanding of why GLBTQ authors are having such a hard time finding voices. How about a lesbian version of Jessica Darling? Or “The Brotherhood of the Traveling Pants” – set in Provincetown? There are so many opportunities for a sense of fun and humor, and yes, even sex, in the GLBTQ world, and I’m looking forward to finding some more writers who will truly take advantage of it.
Book Talk Hook: I would not bother book talking this book, because it’s so boring, I don’t think I could muster up enough enthusiasm about it.
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