The Order of the Poison Oak

Brent Hartinger is funny and tender and real. Although this book (and his others) feature a gay teen, ALL teents and adults who like to read young adult books should read him. No matter your sexual prefernce, you will appreciate his messages of acceptance and understanding and his great writing.

This is a masterfully written novel. Unlike a lot of books that sort of read like the author just started writing and then one day just stopped, the whole construction of this novel seems very carefully thought out. Everything ties together! I especially loved the Rainbow Crow story, and the way the author weaves its themes throughout the whole novel. Bravo, Brent, bravo!

Russel Middlebrook, a high school student readers last met in the novel GEOGRAPHY CLUB, is near the end of a very traumatic sophomore year. He was outed in the previous book, and he faced up to the ramifications of that, some of which continue on in the form of low-level verbal abuse from other students. "I'd put up with this kind of crap ever since we'd gone public with our Gay-Straight-Bisexual Alliance, and frankly I was... Read Full Review

I loved "The Geography Club," so I had trepidations when I eagerly snatched up the sequel. But they were quickly short-lived as I quickly got involved in the machinations of Russel, Min and Gunnar at a summer camp. This sequel is a rarity in that the main character actually grows in a new direction from the previous book. Usually, the character just seems to go through the exact same journey. But we see Russel grapple... Read Full Review