Social Intercourse

Greg Howard

- 4.7 • 50 Ratings

- $0.99

- $0.99

“A funny and satisfying love story [that] challenges simplistic preconceptions.” —Publishers Weekly

Beckett Gaines, a gay teen living in South Carolina, has his world turned upside-down by a jock in this laugh-out-loud novel that’s Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda meets The Parent Trap.

Beck:
The Golden Girls-loving, out-and-proud choir nerd growing up in the “ass-crack of the Bible belt.”

Jax:
The Golden Boy, star quarterback with a slick veneer facing uncomfortable truths about himself and his past.

When Beck’s emotionally fragile dad starts dating the recently single (and supposedly lesbian) mom of former bully Jaxon Parker, Beck is not having it. Jax isn’t happy about the situation either, holding out hope that his moms will reunite and restore the only stable home he’s ever known. Putting aside past differences, the boys plot to derail the budding romance between their parents at their conservative hometown’s first-ever Rainbow Prom. Hearts will be broken, new romance will bloom, but nothing will go down the way Beck and Jax have planned.

In his hilarious and provocative debut, Greg Howard examines the challenges of growing up different in a small southern town through the lens of colorful and unforgettable characters who stay with you long after the last drop of sweet tea.

PUBLISHERS WEEKLY APR 9, 2018

Florence, S.C., is not an easy place to be gay, but 17-year-old Beckett Gaines is doing his best to be out and proud, and he's trying to lose his virginity (and hopefully find love) via his newly installed Bangr app. His father is supportive, so much so that he and his new girlfriend, Tracee, are planning a Rainbow Prom, but Beck worries that Tracee is on the rebound from her longtime female partner. It turns out that Beck has an unexpected ally in Tracee's son, Jax Parker, a quarterback, class president, and golden boy who just wants his moms back together. It's a small town, so Jax and Beck have a history, but they turn out to have things to learn about and from each other. Debut author Howard may lean a little heavily on gay tropes (Beck seems to have grown up on a diet of The Golden Girls and RuPaul), but he tells a funny and satisfying love story while challenging simplistic preconceptions that people are either gay or straight or that the Bible Belt plus football equals a homophobic community. Ages 14 up.

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