Odd One Out

3.5 I wanted to like this more than I did, especially because I've already given it to some kids and they LOVED it and wanted to talk about it. I agree there needs to be more bi/pan/queer representation, but I'm not sure this is the best version of that. Also, she pushed into some John Green territory of what adults think teens say vs what they actually say. Understood the 3 narrator piece but I would have liked to hear from all 3 characters at end, instead of just through Jupe's lens. It really felt like HER story, with the other 2 voices thrown in because an editor suggested it.

DON'T WASTE YOUR TIME WITH THIS BOOK. I mean it. This is one of those books that is so bad that I don't plan to read anything else by the author, which is a little annoying as her debut book, Dear Martin, is the new One Book Baltimore pick. But this book, her second, is SO BAD that I can't imagine her first is any better. I will get into details, but first.

TRIGGER WARNING. BIPHOBIA. ILLEGAL SEXUAL RELATIONSHIPS. (big age gaps).

Alright. With that said, let's dive in. SPOILERS AHEAD.

We have three main characters in this book, of various races and ethnicities - the racial rep is actually one of the few good things about this book. First we have “Coop,” black straight male. Then we have his best friend, “Jupe” or Jupiter, lesbian female. Then the new girl, Rae, who appears to be bi, but never outright labels herself. She is assumed to be straight by Jupiter, one of many instances of casual biphobia in this book.

All three characters fall in love with each other. From this setup, and the jacket description, I was expecting a rare representation of polyamory in a young adult book. But not only do they not wind up in a triangle, the possibility isn't even spoken of. This is supposedly a book about questioning labels and exploring your identity but alternate relationship structures don't even seem to EXIST, which is SUPER frustrating. Even if they'd at least discussed it as an OPTION, I would have been happier. But no. Monogamy is not only the norm, but apparently the only option in this book.

And OH LORD THE BIPHOBIA. Jupe has a lesbian friend who is much older than her - in college - and said friend goes off about how she won't date bi girls because they'll always leave you for men. She's not challenged on this statement. Not out loud, not in the text, nothing. And that's not the only instance. Jupe also gets drunk and pleads with this friend to have sex with her. Resulting in a 20-year-old having sex with a tipsy sixteen-year-old.

I normally don't have an issue with age gaps - and I don't, actually, have an issue with Rae, who's 15, and Cooper, who is 18 in the book. Other reviewers have mentioned that's not legal in Georgia, where the book takes place, but please. It's only a three-year age difference, and they're all in high school. But the college student giving in to the tipsy high-schooler was a little more than just “an age gap.” That's...very questionable.

BACK TO THE BIPHOBIA. There's an inner monologue about if saying you're bisexual also means you can be attracted to non-binary people or not. (Hint: bi means “attracted to your own sex AND OTHERS.” So yes.) And when Jupiter, the lesbian, decides she is attracted to Cooper, she flatly denies that that makes her bisexual.

To be fair, I've known at least two lesbians who identify as “lesbian except HIM” - one specific person. But that's not what Jupiter does. She drops her label entirely - in a GSA meeting at her school that she leads - because she still likes girls but also likes a boy. When a bisexual member speaks up with “So you're bi then? You can say it, it's nothing to be ashamed of. I'm bi.” she IMMEDIATELY shoots him down, saying it's not that cut and dried. Then she announces they'll talk about negative stereotypes of different sexualities, including bisexuality, in their next meeting and ends the meeting. The only reason she doesn't like the bisexual label, as stated a little earlier in the book, is because she's attracted to nonbinary people so she “doesn't know if bi fits.” That's biphobia.

Oh, and let's not forget when Rae kisses Jupiter and she goes off on her about keeping her straight-questioning cooties away from her. (Paraphrasing.) Rae had never explicitly talked about her sexuality, but obviously because she's attracted to boys, she's straight, right?

The book is advertised as having great representation, and it's just bad. It's bad and hurtful and frustrating and shouldn't be on all these LGBT lists because this is NOT the kind of representation we should be pushing.

Ugh. And I haven't even touched the quality of writing. Which is...not great. I don't understand the people that liked this book or think it's good rep. Did we read the same book?

You can find all my reviews at Goddess in the Stacks.