Teenage Dirtbags

4.5 stars

this book delivers what it promises, messy teens, friendship, some love on the side, good stuff all around

Angry loner and in-school suspension regular Phil Reyno vows revenge on Cameron Ellis. Eight months ago the handsome, self-effacing dude outed him, allegedly in the name of love (the video of Cameron's speech that went viral was just a happy by-product). Now Cameron has dumped Phil in an equally public way. Cameron's “Skwad” also needs to be destroyed for amplifying the breakup and portraying Phil as the the bad guy. In order to take down the Skwad, Phil needs the help of wholesome class president Jackson Pasternak. Who was also Phil's ride or die for five years, until Jackson did something unforgiveable that caused Phil to walk away.Queer YA fiction has come a long way if the MC's “found family” members are allowed to be more like the backstabbing Plastics of Mean Girls and less like the supportive allies of [b:Heartstopper: Volume One 40495957 Heartstopper Volume One (Heartstopper, #1) Alice Oseman https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1712679126l/40495957.SY75.jpg 62811229]. Teenage Dirtbags may not be as purely romantic as Acker's impressive debut [b:The Long Run 60840490 The Long Run James Acker https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1656359663l/60840490.SY75.jpg 91043893], but the plot is more complex; the boys have already met and connected deeply, but Phil is the dirtbag son of an alcoholic mother and Jackson is a tone-deaf Ferris Bueller who thinks their differences don't matter. The explosive scene in which they finally express their anger and hurt puts them on the same side again, but they need to confront their own demons before they can fully be together.The revenge plot is both juicy and troubling, as the fallout takes down more casualties than the boys ever imagined. There are numerous memorable secondary characters including Cameron's ex-girlfriend Ronny, straight uber-ally Brynn, and everybody's fat gay BFF Augie, all of whom demonstrate equally questionable judgement. Because 17. Teenage Dirtbags shows that Acker is no one-hit wonder. I've sworn off both YA and romance novels for a while, but this book is a worthy exception to my self-imposed ban.