Geography Club by Brent Hartinger

ISBN: 978-0060012212
Publisher: HarperTeen (2003)
226 p.

Reading Level: Grade 8 and up.

Summary:

Russel Middlebrook is a teenager who believes he is all alone and wants desperately to meet other gay teens in his community. When his online chat encounter leads to one of the most popular guys in school and his best friend reveals that she is a bisexual with a girlfriend, they realize they can and should band together to combat the loneliness each of them feels. Because they fear the extent of the backlash that will be rained down upon them if they start a gay-straight alliance club, they decide to start up a geography club instead because they can’t imagine anyone ever wanting to join such a boring club. When disagreements threaten to pull the group apart, it will be up to Russel to set matters right. Will he compromise who he is, or will he be honest to himself and his friends? Read Geography Club and its continuation in The Order of the Poison Oak.

Critical Evaluation:

There are a few main themes that permeate this novel. Forgiveness is a central one. The friends in the Geography Club must forgive each other and make amends after hurtful things were said against one who wasn’t welcomed to the group, simply because of his high school status. Russel must grow and learn that he must put others before himself at times. Hartinger wrote,

I wanted a protagonist who is likeable, but the plot requires him to do some pretty unlikeable things. The book is about having integrity and standing up for people who are different, but for my character to learn about integrity, he has to behave like a jerk for a time. It took a couple of drafts to get just the right amount of jerkiness—enough to make a point, but not so much that the reader loses sympathy.” (Retrieved from http://www.cynthialeitichsmith.com/lit_resources/authors/stories_behind/storyhartinger.html).

Overall, the main character is very likeable and learns from his mistakes. This is not a heavy-handed coming-of-age tale; rather, it is a fun and memorable read about a group of teens who combat the loneliness they feel as gays by banding together. Only then can they learn the lessons of what it means to be a friend and what forgiveness and support really entail.

Reader’s Annotation:

Feeling alone, Russel joins an online chat for gay teens and is surprised to find out who is also there, and thinking there are more like him, he forms the Geography Club. Will the group be able to
weather the ups and downs of keeping their secrets, or will they be true to themselves?

Author Biography:

Brent Hartinger is a writer of gay and lesbian issues, his first published book being Geography Club. He is also the author of 15 plays as well as screenplays. He teaches, at times, in the MFA program at Vermont College. In the past, he has taught creative writing and been a counselor at a youth group home. He is also the editor of a fantasy website.

Hartinger has said that he wrote this book “to rewrite my own adolescence, but give it a better resolution (and a happier ending!).”  (Retrieved from http://www.cynthialeitichsmith.com/lit_resources/authors/stories_behind/storyhartinger.html). Furthermore, the author also provides many fantastic links to help young adults come to terms with their emerging sexuality. The link can be found here: http://www.brenthartinger.com/beinggay.html

Genre: Realistic Fiction (LGBTQ)

Curriculum Ties:

This title could be taught in an English class as an example of the many types of teens
who make up a high school. Compassion and acceptance should be part of the curriculum.

Booktalking Ideas:

-Are there Gay-Straight alliance clubs in the high schools that are listening
to the booktalk? How did it come to fruition?

-Discuss to what extent teens might stick up for “outsiders” at their school.

Read-Alikes:

-The Order of the Poison Oak by Brent Hartinger  (sequel to Geography Club).

-What They Always Tell Us by Martin Wilson.

-Rainbow Boys by Alex Sanchez

Challenge Issue:

Unfortunately, as Hartinger writes on his blog, "There is a group of people who not only wants to decide what their kids are reading, they also want to decide what everyone else's kids read too."

(Retrieved at http://www.brenthartinger.com/geoquestions.html).

Any parent who is against this funny, heartbreaking, charming, and realistic story of gay teens should know that not all children are made the same and that imposing one’s personal agenda onto others is never acceptable. A librarian should listen to a complaint with a calm and understanding attitude and ultimately let the patron know that all types of people make up the world and that respect must be practiced on all sides. After all, if this book helps a child through a dark period and not feel so alone, who could possibly be against that?

Reason to include in blog:

In one of our readings, I came across a list of the most well-regarded literature for LGBTQ teens, and this one seemed to be a fun read that was not too heavy. The themes, issues, and challenges the main character faces are written so clearly that readers feel as if they are literally in Russel’s mind. Perhaps if more straight teens would read LGBTQ literature, they would learn that all teens share the same conflicts such as love, acceptance, and learning how to make their own way in life.

References:

Brent Hartinger. (2011). In Wikipedia.
     Retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org /wiki/Brent_Hartinger#Works

Hartinger, B. (2011). Being gay. Retrieved from http://www.brenthartinger.com/beinggay.html

Hartinger, B. (2003). Geography Club. New York: HarperTempest.

Smith, C. (2011). The story behind the story:

Brent Hartinger on Geography Club. Retrieved from  http://www.cynthialeitichsmith.com/lit_resources/authors/stories_behind/storyhartinger.html