Friday 29 April 2011

Review: Boyfriends with Girlfriends by Alex Sanchez

Lance has always known he was gay, but he's never had a real boyfriend. Sergio is bisexual, but his only real relationship was with a girl. When the two of them meet, they have an instant connection--but will it be enough to overcome their differences?
Allie's been in a relationship with a guy for the last two years--but when she meets Kimiko, she can't get her out of her mind. Does this mean she's gay? Does it mean she's bi? Kimiko, falling hard for Allie, and finding it impossible to believe that a gorgeous girl like Allie would be into her, is willing to stick around and help Allie figure it out.
Boyfriends with Girlfriends is Alex Sanchez at his best, writing with a sensitive hand to portray four very real teens striving to find their places in the world--and with each other.

You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view - until you climb into his skin and walk around in it
~Atticus Finch, To Kill Mockingbird~

My Thought
While reading this book, I kept spelling the quote above. I am not a phobia nevertheless the ideas in this book are new for me. Surprisingly, various emotions were up to the surface when I read it

It was nice that every characters, Allie, Lance, Kimiko and Sergio, got their own chapters. So I could read all their point of view and interpret them. I liked when Allie and Kimiko talked about manga. The conversations that involved Allie and Lance were also my favorite. In other side, Kimiko and Sergio gave me much trouble. I was never in their sides for every problem that they faced. Many things that they did really upset me. But nothing saddened me when I found out what Allie did in the end.

Please bear with me. I have never read any GLBT book before. Do not get me wrong when my eyes kept frowning since the beginning. I just did not get with some thoughts and issue that Alex brought. I kept asking about this bisexual. A way that Allie and Sergio chose to be. Just like Lance, I just not get why they can have deep feeling for both of man and woman.

Another thing that trouble me was Sergio's thought about a date. No need to wonder why I thought he just took Lance for granted. He was not that serious. I really dislike the way Sergio treated Lance. I understood why Lance questioned their relationship.Not only once, when I found myself kept whispered to Lance to leave him behind. Lance deserved someone better.

I was crying when Alex took me to all segments of Kimiko and her mother. Both of them were stubborn enough. They got their own reasons. I was glad when finally there was a way out. One thing that also broke my heart was something that happened between Allie and her boyfriend. The antipathy was knitted for her. Then few days after, I was giggling because of these feelings. There are not many books which make me feel these way.

I could enjoy this book more if I left what I think about straight, gay and bisexual behind.

If you want to find something different that you will not find in many YA genre, you can choose this book. I think I am going to give another chance for Alex Sanchez's works but not in the near future.

Cover
They chose the right models. All the characters were represented well. Allie and Lance were Gorgeous as I thought.

3.5/5

Author: Alex Sanchez | Website
Format: ebook, 224 pages
Published April 19th 2011 by Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing
Source: Simon & Schuster Galley Grab
Buy Boyfriends with Girlfriends at Amazon


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