Fanart by Sarah Tregay
Fanart
by Sarah Tregay
I saw this book at the library and the title grabbed me at once. I'm a major fangirl and love looking at fanart. I was even more thrilled when I started reading and realized the main character was gay.
This turned out to be an adorable and somewhat extremely unlikely story. The main character, Jamie, suddenly realizes he's in love with his best friend. The problem is, he isn't out yet to anyone but his mother. Or so he thinks. Apparently, everyone at school already suspects except Jamie's best friend. Jamie's terrified that if he comes out, he's going to lose his friend, and that's the very last thing he wants. He also has to deal with a bunch of teenage things--his role as an editor at the school literary magazine (a friend of his in art class drew a comic story for the magazine... with two gay boys kissing, and the magazine's staff is reluctant to publish it), prom (he ends up wth a date and they are each other's beards), senior cut day (his car breaks down, preventing the perfect day he'd had planned), and graduation (which contained a scene so shocking to me I nearly yelled, but I was in a doctor's office when reading it and got a few weird looks just from jumping in my seat, so I'm glad I didn't accidentally yell).
It's your typical coming out story that isn't actually typical at all. It's one boy's funny, strange, brave, and terrified story. I really loved him and every second of his struggle, though. The pacing was a little strange and, again, there was a moment or two that shocked me. And then there were some really unlikely things that gave it a super happy ending that it might not have gotten in real life. But, like in fanart, it's up to the creator to make the ideal come true. And this book was definitely that. The happy ending is EXTRA happy. But it filled me with the same warm fuzzies as good fanart does. So mission accomplished.
I knew this book was for me when I read this bit on page 78:
On my way home, I giggle about the idea that Kellen and I have slashed together, as if we were as famous (and fictional) as Spock and Kirk, Sirius and Remus, Spike and Angel. That'd make for some pretty epic fiction--I might even read that book--if only we weren't real people.
I really enjoyed the book and am glad I read it. It's a little unlikely and a little simplistic. But there are still good, warm fuzzies to have. So I'm glad I gave it a read.