Book #99: Geography Club

Book #99: Geography Club by Brent Hartinger

July 22, 2014


I remember hearing about this book at some point. It's a young adult novel, so maybe a classmate from one of my grad courses told me about it. I wanted to read something specifically gay-themed; there just don't seem to be many books out there with main characters who are gay or lesbian. I've noticed a crop of such books for YA readers, and maybe I can find some books that have adult lesbians are protagonists. After all, while it's important to read about characters from other cultures and other times, sometimes it's nice to read about a character with whom you have a personal connection.

I think that was Hartinger's intention with this book, and with the others that follow (I believe there are a total of four books that follow protagonist Russel Middlebrook). This first one was published in 2003. I was in high school myself at that time, and so I found myself comparing the conditions in Russel's school to those at my high school. There was a GSA club at my school, but I remember seeing vandalism on some of the fliers they would put up. Barely anybody was "out" in high school; hell, I'm just now going through the process of "coming out," and it just seems so awkward. I want people to just accept that I'm a lesbian, not be surprised about it (though most people probably aren't!), and just move on. The truth of the matter is, I'm a chicken-shit; the kids in this book are at least braver than I am, and under worse circumstances.

Russel thinks he's the only gay kid in school (ha!), until he meets another classmate in a gay teen chatroom online. Remember, this is 2003, so chatrooms and IMing were going on, rather than Facebook, Twitter, and texting. I don't think any of the characters had cell phones, even. But besides the changes to technology, I also feel like the atmosphere for gay teens has changed at schools. I can say that for where I'm living; having subbed in many of the area schools, I know that most of them have some sort of GSA or other organization supporting gay students. There are definitely more students "out" than when I was in school, and while I wouldn't say that things are easy for these kids, I think the fact that more of them feel like they can truly express their identities is telling in itself.

But in 2003, in a suburban community (I'm guessing Washington, since that's where the author is from, though the book could easily take place in some mid-West communities today, besides some antiquated references), being openly gay in high school and wanting to form a GSA group were social suicide. When Russel learns that his gay friend online is Kevin, a hot jock from his gym class, and when he learns that one of his best friends, Min, is bisexual, they want to start their own group with the two other gay kids that they know at school. But again, indicating that it's a club for gay students would have invited ridicule, and from the way the other students treat Brian, a social outcast, I can see that people are especially cruel and bigoted at this school. So they decide to form their club, but call it the "Geography Club," so that nobody would possibly want to join them.

What I like about this book is that Russel grows a lot on a personal level. He goes from being a scared kid in the closet, to being (more or less) out, and kind of proud of it, too. He stands up for Brian, and is able to be more honest with his friends, even Gunnar, his straight friend who is so desperate for a girlfriend that he keeps setting Russel up on dates with a girl who is friends with a slut, so that they can double. I found it interesting that Gunnar knew Russel was gay; that scene was nice and everything, but I still wonder why Gunnar would be so insensitive and force Russel to go out on those dates in the first place. Still, Gunnar redeems himself by joining the real GSA that most of the Geography Club members start at the end of the book.

I feel sad for Kevin, whose relationship with Russel ends because he's afraid of becoming unpopular after the situation with Brian. He doesn't join the actual GSA, of course, even though he was a founding member of the Geography Club. I felt like, even more than a decade later, Kevin is a pretty realistic gay teen character. He cares about saving face in front of his friends, even at the expense of others. He hides his true identity, and puts up with listening to his friends talk about nailing girls over the weekend. As a matter of fact, teens who aren't gay could probably relate to Kevin's inner conflict. Not many teens haven't done something to conform to peer pressure in spite of their own better judgment. At one point, Russel caves to peer pressure, too, and spends a little time being popular. But he feels guilty for being mean to Brian, and for upsetting Min about it, especially when rumors spread about his sexual orientation and he is cast off from the popular group. Kevin doesn't experience the same growth as his one-time boyfriend, at least not yet. Well, I guess Kevin could get a free ride to college for baseball and really go crazy there...or, he could further succumb to pressure and stay in the closet. Poor kid.

There are some things that irked me about this book, though. I understand that it's supposed to be the first of a series, but there are too many connections that aren't made. For one thing, there's the character of Reverend Bowd. Russel describes him as being a local conservative leader who crams his fundamentalist beliefs down the throats of community members. It's interesting to me that Hartinger, who as I said is from Washington state, would include such a character. That reminds me of a plot in one of Chris Crutcher's books...and he's from Washington state, too. Are there a lot of these religiousy types in the state of Washington? And what do they have to say about the legalization of marijuana?

Anyway, Reverend Bowd is featured in one scene in the principal's office, which Russel happens to overhear, as he complains about the health teacher demonstrating how to put on a condom, using a cucumber as a phallus. Russel reflects on how this guy has caused trouble in their community before; he even has the health teacher fired by the end of the book, but that's not a major plot line. I expected that Bowd would come back around as a major antagonist in this book, but I'm thinking it's being set-up for one of the later books, now that the school has an official GSA and everything. But something bothers me about that scene and the way that the character was introduced...and the whole situation with the health teacher, for that matter. I feel like there should have been a little more mention of it...

Also, what's the deal with Russel's parents? He barely mentions them. I remember him saying that telling his parents that he's gay isn't an option, though I'm unclear as to why...he doesn't talk about how they're religious (he doesn't seem to attend Bowd's church), or how his father is a macho man, or whatever. Nothing like that. So I'm still left with, well, why can you absolutely never ever tell your parents that you're gay? It's not explained at all.

Plus, he addresses (in an offhand way...in parenthesis, as this note here now is) that his parents aren't involved in his life much at all, and that's why they don't come into the story much. That's lazy on the author's part, I think. I mean, he does call them from the payphone when he leaves Trish's beach house. So if they'd be expecting him home at a certain time, then they couldn't be that uninvolved in his life. And again, no explanation for how they're not involved...are they workaholics? Alcoholics? (I doubt that, or he would have said something when Belinda, the "token straight" in the Geography Club, talked about her mother's issues). Or just really obnoxiously self-absorbed? Doesn't say.

Now, I do have to keep in mind that people my age aren't the audience for this book, but teens. Teenagers, on the one hand, might not be interested in reading much about the adults...hence, why so much of the text revolves around the teen characters, and there is nary a parent or actively involved teacher in sight. However, that would ring as unrealistic to most teens, I would think. After all, one big issue that teens deal with is their parents, of course! Yet Russel more or less does whatever he wants; he meets Kevin at the park several times in the dead of night. As an adult reader and a teacher, I'd like to know what's really going on here.

I would find this book much more dissatisfying if I didn't know it was the first in a series. If it was meant to stand alone with all of these unanswered questions, I'd be pissed on behalf of any teen who'd read this book. But I could see gay teens wanting to go on to read more about Russel and his friends. I'm sure they're more concerned with whether or not Russel and Kevin will get back together, or Min and Therese. Or if the GSA club will find out who the gay student was who spoke with the health teacher. She mentioned a kid expressing the need for a GSA group at their school, but it wasn't any of the kids who were involved in Geography Club. I like the way that particular unanswered question was handled, because I think it would be an appropriate plot line to continue into other stories.

As I said, I think it'll be better for me to find more adult-themed books with lesbian characters. But books like this one are great to see on the shelves for gay teens, or simply for teens in general. Apparently Hartinger is involved in supporting gay teens in his community, and that doesn't surprise me. The overall message of this book is good for any gay teen (or any gay person, for that matter) to keep in mind: you are not alone. I'd like to think that the conflicts that the characters faced are out-of-date, but I'm not that naive. I am optimistic, though, that in a few more years' time, a gay teen who reads this book will think, wow, I'm glad things aren't that way anymore. I really, really hope.