Out of the Pocket was reviewed on www.teensreadtoo.com.

OUT OF THE POCKET by Bill Konigsberg

Category: Contemporary

Age Recommendation: Grades 9+

Release Date: 9/18/08

Publisher: Dutton

Reviewed by: coollibrarianchick

Rating: 4 Stars

In the locker room, the word fag is tossed around jokingly between teammates. What they do not realize is that among them is someone struggling to accept that he is different, that he is gay.

It is one thing being gay - it is totally another thing playing a testosterone-driven sport, being the star quarterback, and being gay.

Bobby Framingham, star quarterback, who dreams of playing for Stanford, is an all around good guy; handsome, popular and gay. No one knows yet and he is not ready to tell anyone, either.

OK, so now we know enough to take a look at my pre-season prognostications. Let me be the first to say I put gay sportswriters everywhere to shame.

And I quote:

Early NFL prognostications: The Giants take a step backward. Brett Favre gets hurt and the Jets struggle with Kellen Clemens behind center. The Raiders are much improved, Cardinals make the playoffs. Cowboys, Saints, Jaguars and Browns get first round byes. Patriots and Colts do make the playoffs but don't go far.

Chuck and I were walking down Bleeker Street toward the East side today when I saw an "Optimo" sign above a boarded-up storefront.

I think you can probably tell a real New Yorker by who remembers Optimo. If you lived here in the 70s, you'd probably recall that there was an Optimo on every block. Generally a cigar shop, it was my candy emporium of choice. Yes, I remember when a Hershey's Bar cost twenty-five cents. Come around, kids, and I'll spin ya a tale!

I love candy.
1

Let's take a step away from politics for a moment (thank God!) and focus on something interesting that was sent to me: A woman who is writing a book to help South Asian families with gay members is looking for people to interview. Here's the info:

Her name is Mrinalini, her email is drmrinalini@yahoo.com

Hi,

Some of you might know that I had started working on creating a book

for South Asian parents and families to educate them and address their

concerns about their homosexual children.

I've gotten quite a bit of feedback on what I wrote about Rick Warren, and it was a mixed bag. It's to be expected; it's a hot topic and my view is actually out of line with my normal politics.

My husband flat-out disagrees with me on this. As do many of my friends. So perhaps I'm wrong, I don't know.

But I will say this: we need to keep in mind that none of the presidential candidates were in favor of gay marriage. Not one of the major ones, anyway. Obama wasn't for it.

Most of my friends are pretty upset today about the news that Rick Warren, the evangelical pastor, will preside over Barack Obama's inauguration in January.

I want to start by saying I understand the concern. While Warren has parted ways with some of the more hardline evangelicals over some issues, he was in favor of Proposition 8 in California, which banned gay marriages. Not only was he in favor of it, but he campaigned for it.

Obviously, I think Warren is wrong about gay marriage.
3

I am doing a terrible job of blogging this month, sorry. I've been traveling a lot and my attention has been elsewhere. And if I sound sort of humorless today, forgive me. I have a cold and I am a terrible patient.

So to catch anyone up: I was in Atlanta for a reading at Outwrite Books last Tuesday night. Here is a shot from that reading:

This was a pretty good event at a great bookstore. But what's up with the "theater in the round" setup? I am not used to that at all and it was different.

I went to see Milk this weekend in Chelsea, and was overwhlemed by it.

Let me first say I am a proudly biased source. I think there was a part of me needing to see a mainstream movie about a gay American hero, and Milk delivered, in spades.

Sometimes my gay pride wilts. I can feel a bit separated from any gay community, even living in New York, and I begin to feel like someone who is proud and who is gay but the two things fall away from each other. I don't know why this is.

I received this review of Out of the Pocket by e-mail. It was written by Lance Shreeve, a high school student from Arizona. I was really pleased by it, because, well, read it for yourself.

--

Out of the Pocket was a little weird at first because I wasn't used to reading about the life of a homosexual, but it showed me a different point of view and made me appreciate Bobby's decision and I recognized the bravery it took to "come out' about his sexuality.
6
Loading