JAY'S GAY AGENDA

SYNOPSIS

There’s one thing Jay Collier knows for sure—he’s a statistical anomaly as the only out gay kid in his small rural Washington town. While all his friends can’t stop talking about their heterosexual hookups and relationships, Jay can only dream of his own firsts, compiling a romance to-do list of all the things he hopes to one day experience—his Gay Agenda.

Then, against all odds, Jay’s family moves to Seattle and he starts his senior year at a new high school with a thriving LGBTQIA+ community. For the first time ever, Jay feels like he’s found where he truly belongs. But as Jay begins crossing items off his list, he’ll soon be torn between his heart and his hormones, his old friends and his new ones . . . because after all, life and love don’t always go according to plan. 

Title: Jay's Gay Agenda

Author: Jason June

Publisher: HarperTeen

Publication date: June 1, 2021

REVIEW

RATING: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

A week ago I  decided to enter a bookstachallenge in which the goal was to read at least 12 queer backlist books by the end of the year. Jay’s Gay Agenda was first one in the challenge and what a fantastic way to start.

Jay’s the only gay guy in his small town. He’s jealous of his straight friends having their first loves, first kisses, etc., so he compiles a list of things to do one day. When his family suddenly moves to Seattle he finds himself amongst a thriving LGBTQIA+ community where, for the first time, he feels he truly belongs and that will allow him to start crossing off experiences from his gay agenda.

This was fricking cute! It’s the kind of story I’m sure all of us part of the queer community would have loved to have available when we were young(er). New generations are so lucky to have these kind of stories around to make them feel represented.

Jay’s Gay Agenda does a fantastic job in exploring teenage relationships, those messy first loves when you’re experiencing everything for the first time, you’re not even sure what it is you’re feeling and heart and hormones seem to be in constant battle.

Jay’s character was pretty relatable. Did he always make the best decisions? Definitely not, but come on! What 18 yo does? Even though my almost 40 yo self doesn’t share some of Jay’s views on relationships, I found they were pretty spot on for a 18 yo who, for the first time, finds himself in the place he always dreamed.

I’ve read some reviews complaining about some of Jay’s actions and I would have liked to see how those people behaved when they were that age. I’ve also read complaints about being lots of sex and sex talk, but guess what? Sex is part of relationships. People have sex. Get over it! I love it when stories (especially those aimed to a younger audience) deal with this in a natural way.

The cast of characters was great in its diversity, especially Jay’s new friend Max. It was nice to see a gender fluid character.

The only thing I didn’t like was that Jay’s agenda was repeated (updated, but repeated in the end) several times and that became quite repetitive.

Charming, messy, funny, sex positive story about teenage relationships with a cast of flawed yet relatable characters that left me with a smile on my face and anxious to read the sequel. Yes, there’s gonna be a sequel! YAYYYY!!!