Book Descriptions
for Absolutely, Positively Not by David LaRochelle
From Cooperative Children's Book Center (CCBC)
Sixteen-year-old Steven is harboring a deep secret: he loves to square dance. But Steven has another secret, too: he thinks he might be gay. Steven is sure that both are far from typical for a teenage boy living in his small Minnesota town, which he describes as the hockey stick capital of the world. In truth, Steven knows he is gay, but he doesn’t want to believe it. As he navigates these and other challenges of his life in high school, from his crush on a (male) teacher to learning how to drive, Steven tries several questionable tactics to change his sexuality, all to no avail. David Larochelle’s extraordinary narrative is an exquisite balancing act with humor as its center point: he takes Steven from denial and aversion to a place of empowerment and self-acceptance in a story that is laugh-out-loud funny—offering witty commentaries on popular culture—even as it shines with moments of poignancy and truth. (Age 12 and older)
CCBC Choices 2006 . © Cooperative Children's Book Center, Univ. of Wisconsin - Madison, 2006. Used with permission.
From the Publisher
There is one thing Steven knows for sure: He's absolutely, positively NOT gay.
Steven's a 16-year-old boy with two obsessions: sex and getting his driving license. The problem is, Steven's not thinking girls when he's thinking sex. Could he be -- don't say it -- gay? Steven sets out to get in touch with his inner he-man with Healthy Heterosexual Strategies such as "Start Hanging Out with the Guys," and "Begin Intensive Dating." But are Steven's tactics going to straighten him out, or leave him all twisted up?
Absolutely hilarious. Positively sidesplitting. But absolutely, positively NOT GAY!
Steven's a 16-year-old boy with two obsessions: sex and getting his driving license. The problem is, Steven's not thinking girls when he's thinking sex. Could he be -- don't say it -- gay? Steven sets out to get in touch with his inner he-man with Healthy Heterosexual Strategies such as "Start Hanging Out with the Guys," and "Begin Intensive Dating." But are Steven's tactics going to straighten him out, or leave him all twisted up?
Absolutely hilarious. Positively sidesplitting. But absolutely, positively NOT GAY!
Publisher description retrieved from Google Books.