Way to Go

Gr 10 Up—It's 1994 in the small Canadian seaside town of Deep Cove, and three 17-year-old boys are ready to spend the summer picking up girls, although Dan is questioning whether that's what he really wants. When he turns down prospects for easy sex, his friend Kierce gets suspicious and taunts him with the rumors that he's gay. Danny desperately wants not to be and doesn't know what he wants to do with his life. In a new job at a restaurant, he meets Lisa, a sophisticated girl from New York City who he hopes will inspire sexual passion, but he finds a passion for cooking instead. This coming-of-age, coming-out story, a first novel, barely scratches the surface of what could be deep soul-searching. The teen's revelation to friends and family and their quick acceptance seem too easy, and references to mid-'90s pop and movie stars are likely to baffle contemporary readers.—Shawna Sherman, Hayward Public Library, CA