David Inside Out

 David Inside Out, a young adult novel filled with drama, humor and sex, will be featured by your book club this month.  Sex?  Yes.  This is not your father's young adult novel.

 David is a 16-year-old runner on the cross-country team at a private Minneapolis high school.  His comfortable life is upended when he develops a powerful crush on his handsome teammate, Sean.  Fiercely fighting his homosexual desires, David embarks on a campaign to be straight, including reading men's magazines like Guns and Ammo and snapping a rubber band on his wrist every time he has an inappropriate urge.  All his good intentions are put to the test when he finds an anonymous note in his locker telling him to wear his red jersey to school on Friday if he "wants to have sex with a guy."

 While David Inside Out was written as a teen novel, it has crossover appeal for adults. Recommended by The Advocate as the kind of book that "resurfaces when angst seems nostalgic and memories get glossy," it will take gay and lesbian readers back to their own coming out experiences.

 David's internal struggle was informed by mine back in the day.  Yet, the landscape has changed.  David watches Will & Grace on TV with his mother, contends with a friend who wants to start a gay/straight alliance at their school, and finds an LGBT bookstore where he can buy books.  The isolation is gone, but the difficulty embracing his sexual identity is still intense.

 If you want to take an emotional roller coaster ride in which you feel everything from anguish to elation, this is one book you won't want to miss.  The themes of first love and a quest for identity are universal and in this telling they have particular resonance for LGBT readers.

 Enjoy!

 Lee Bantle
    

Excerpt

Excerpt to come...