Waiting on Wednesday: Gemini Bites

Gemini Bites by Patrick Ryan

Out: March 1, 2011

Summary:

One of the strangest (and funniest) love triangles ever to hit YA fiction, when a pair of twins (one boy, one girl) both fall for the boy who moves in with them…who may or may not be a vampire.

Judy and Kyle Renneker are sixteen-year-old fraternal twins in a rambling family of nine. They have a prickly history with each other and are, at least from Judy's perspective, constantly in fierce competition. Kyle has recently come out of the closet to his family and feels he might never know what it's like to date a guy. Judy, who has a history of pretending to be something she isn't in order to get what she wants, is pretending to be born-again in order to land a boyfriend who heads his own bible study.

When their parents announce that the family is going to be taking in a fellow student for a month so that he can finish the school year before moving away, both Kyle and Judy can't help but sit up and take notice. Garret Johnson, who is taking temporary residence in the newly finished attic, is a young man who moved into town less than a year ago and who is a mysterious, goth loner . . . and claims to be a vampire. He's not an easy person to get to know by any means, but the twins find him (to varying degrees) both strange and alluring.

GEMINI BITES explores what it means to pretend to be something you aren't, what happens when that backfires, and how in-your-face honesty is almost always the best course of action.

Why I Want It: Personally, I still like vampire novels...though if this is truly a vampire novel or just a guy claiming to be one, I'm not sure. Either way, it sounds interesting. And I love that there is a YA vampire novel coming out where one of the main characters are gay. It's different and very exciting, especially in regards to this sites' whole message: Let's Get Beyond Tolerance. Maybe a book like this will help with that.

I'm also a freelance publicist and this book is something that I would love to help promote. So hey, if the author reads this and you're interested...get in touch. Here's my site.

What are your thoughts? PLUS, what other 2011 books feature LGBT characters? I can't really find any beyond Gemini Bites!

-Lauren

Review: Love Drugged by James Klise

Love Drugged by James Klise

Review by: Lauren

Copy From: Author--his site

Amazon Associates: Buy the book from the link and we get a small percentage

Offiical Summary: If you could change who you are, would you? Should you?

Fifteen-year-old Jamie Bates has a simple strategy for surviving high school: fit in, keep a low profile, and above all, protect his biggest secret-he's gay. But when a classmate discovers the truth, a terrified Jamie does all he can to change who he is. At first, it's easy. Everyone notices when he starts hanging out with Celia Gamez, the richest and most beautiful girl in school. And when he steals an experimental new drug that's supposed to "cure" his attraction to guys, Jamie thinks he's finally going to have a "normal" life.

But as the drug's side effects worsen and his relationship with Celia heats up, Jamie begins to realize that lying and using could shatter the fragile world of deception that he's created-and hurt the people closest to him.

Told with equal doses of humor and suspense, Love Drugged explores the consequences of a life constructed almost entirely of lies . . . especially the lies we tell ourselves.

Review: I love LGBT literature, but Love Drugged doesn't seem to completley fit that category. Don't get me wrong...yes, Jamie is gay and yes, he is dealing with his own coming out story (in a very unique way, might I add you)...but I'd classify this as more pre-LGBT. Why? Well, Jamie never fully becomes himself until the end and he spends a lot of time trying to make the pills work and hoping that his relationship with Celia will actually begin to feel real to him

Parts of the book dragged a bit, only because I really wanted Jamie to come to terms with who he was and  find someone to really appreciate him. This does and does not happen in the book, but I won't give everything away. I will say that I loved the end. The suspense really picked up and the pills become one interesting addition to this coming-of-age/coming-out story that really makes Love Drugged intriguing.

By the end, it's like you've entered an action film with fire and threats, and I certainly enjoyed this book's villian. It's not your classic YA fare...at least when it comes to contemporary novels, but it's certainly fun.

Letters to Your Favorite Authors: Prize Pack Giveaway

Whether you've read David Inside Out or not, this is still one week that you want to pay attention to.

In Lee's novel, main character David and his best friend Eddie write letters to their favorite authors. Obviously, all of you reading out there are probably book lovers yourself and wish you could tell your own favorite author something.

Thankfully, four bloggers (one is an author herself) were willing and able to write up a letter to an author they love and post it on their blog. You must check out their respective blogs, on their particular date, to find the letter though. By doing so, leaving your thoughts, and even following the various blogs...you get entered into a prize pack (more prizes will be added as this goes along so keep an eye on the list).

First off, here is the schedule:

Tuesday, Nov. 16- Eleni from http://www.lafemmereaders.blogspot.com/
Wednesday, Nov. 17- Courtney from http://www.ctnyrene.blogspot.com/
Thursday, Nov. 18-Cass from http://bonjourcass.blogspot.com/
Friday, Nov. 19-Brent from http://naughtybookkitties.blogspot.com/

Rules to Enter the Giveaway:

+1 you will get a point for each letter you comment on. That is a chance to earn four points. (leave a new comment on this blog each time you do though!)

+2 for every single blog you follow, including Let's Get Beyond Tolerance. That is a chance to earn ten points (leave two new comments for each blog you follow)

If you have any questions, please let me know.

The giveaway will end November 30th and it's open to U.S. only, I'm afraid.

Prize List

A signed copy of David Inside Out by Lee Bantle donated by the author
$5 Amazon Gift Code donated by Lauren
$10 Starbucks Gift Card donated by Courtney

--more may be added!

Eleni will have her own, seperate giveaway on La Femme Readers that goes along with the author she wrote. Be sure to follow those rules there!


Note to Bloggers: a lot of bloggers were, unfortunately, unable to write a letter for this, so I'm hoping to do something similar with more bloggers posting letters and a bigger prize pack in the new year. If you want to help, let me know.

Amazon Associates: buy the book from the above link, and we get a small percentage to support the site.

Filled With Glee (Giveaway)

Thanks to BenBella Books, I have one copy of Filled With Glee to giveaway. This is an anthology of essays (by various authors) that have to do with...what else...the show Glee.

I was lucky to recieve a review copy and will hopefully have my thoughts posted soon. For now though, I want to hold the giveaway so I hope you will enter and spread the word to other Glee fans (whether you like the show or not).






To Enter: What other book from BenBella would you like to read?

Open To: U.S. and Canada

Ends: November 20th

Extra Entries


+5 follow the instructions on this post. It's really not that hard, and it would be a great help if you could!! (please leave five separate comments so I don't miss your points)

+2 for every single post you leave a comment on, whether a past post or future...so check what you've already commented on! (Let's Get Beyond Tolerance blog ONLY!) (please leave two separate comments each time so I don't miss points)

Film Review: Just a Question of Love

Do Not Own

Just a Question of Love

Review by: Lauren

Country: France

Just a Question of Love tells the story of the relationship between Laurent and Cédric. Laurent is a college student living with and pretending to be in love with his best friend Carole, to hide the fact that he’s gay. His aunt and uncle’s son, Marc, was also gay but kicked out and abandoned when he revealed the fact. Even when Marc falls ill and eventually passes, Laurent is the only one in his family willing to go and visit him. As such, Laurent keeps his sexuality a secret and uses Carole as a cover for his family, who he loves too much to be honest and risk losing them.

During school, Laurent is given an internship to help him graduate, for he’d been slacking off ever since Marc died. This is where he officially meets Cédric, who is in charge of his internship. As time goes on, the two finally begin a relationship, but Laurent still refuses to be honest and Cédric won’t live a lie. Though the two are in love, they can’t seem to reconcile their differences, leading to a very emotional second half.

Just a Question of Love is a French film (though I watched it with the English subtitles) that is emotional, sweet, funny, passionate, and true. This isn’t a big action film, but rather one that deals on a more simple level to provide you with a story that could ring true for a lot of people. The main actors Cyrille Thouvenin (Laurent) and Stéphan Guérin-Tillié (Cédric) did an amazing job. Their chemistry on screen made me believe that this story could be real.

Do Not Own

Just a Question of Love is a great film and I’d definitely recommend it to those who are at all interested. I especially love the overall message, which was simply and beautifully put by Laurent: “It’s not a question of gay or straight. It’s just a question of love.”




Note: I know this is only our second film review for the site, but I did want to mention that not everything will be a foreign film. There just happen to be a lot of great LGBT films that aren't from the United States.



Giveaway: Five Copies of Gleeful up for Grabs

Interview with Gleeful Author, Amy Rickman!

By: Lauren

Follow the Author on Twitter

1. What made you first start watching Glee?


Funnily enough, I actually didn't catch the very first showing of Glee when it launched after American Idol. But what I did notice was after the show, suddenly all my friends were talking about (in person, on facebook, on twitter, on their blogs) this amazing new show that was a musical as well! I'm a huge fan of musicals so I had to check it out -- after watching the pilot episode online, I knew I was hooked.

2. Who is your favorite character?

My favorite character has to be Sue. Sue -- and the genius that is Jane Lynch -- elevates the show to a whole other level. I think she's a huge reason why Glee has such a huge audience. My boyfriend would never watch a show described as a musical. But a show with Jane Lynch? Definitely.

3. What can people expect to find if they pick up Gleeful?

A lot of Glee-tastic info! I tried to think of everything a Glee fan would want to know about the show -- from the history of glee clubs to Ian Brennan's original concept for Glee (a movie!) to biographies of their favourite cast members. I also incorporated some fun, trivia-related sidebars (called 'Gleeful moments!) which list things like the locations of Lea's tattoos or songs that were cut from an episode. You'll also find a list of every song in the show, so if you heard something you liked and want to download it, you can look it up in Gleeful! Of course, if you get bored you can always look at the great pictures. All the cast is so photogenic!

4. Who do you want to see guest star on Glee or have their music featured?

Honestly, it seems like every time I think of someone who would be great for Glee, they're one step ahead of me and put them on the show! Neil Patrick Harris was a great choice. And Britney? Loads of people were skeptical but she was brilliant! Maybe it's time to bring Justin Timberlake on the show...

5. What makes you gleeful (besides the show)?
Books! I'm a book-a-holic. Aside from writing about awesome shows, I work in publishing in London, UK, so my apartment is filled to the brim with books. There's nothing like the thrill of diving into a new story...


GIVEAWAY

Want to win one of five copies of Gleeful!? Take a look at this Gleeful question below and send your answer to rickman.amy@gmail.com. (Open to residents of US/Canada only)

Q. What's the name of the actress who plays Rachel Berry?

a. Jenna Ushkowitz

b. Lea Michele

c. Naya Rivera

Giveaway Ends on Oct. 31

Amazon Associates: Buy the book from this link and we get a small percentage to support the site. Thanks!

The Country Teacher (Guest Film Review)

THE COUNTRY TEACHER


Director: Bohdan Slama


Czech Republic


Review by KenG

When I found out I’d be screening a film with a gay man as the protagonist, I was both apprehensive and curious. I’ve seen too many films where a leading gay character has to die or suffer some miserable fate as a necessary part of the story’s narrative (BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN, A SINGLE MAN). However, as a gay man myself, I was curious about gay life in eastern Europe, particularly in a non-urban setting. It didn’t hurt that the film was a 2010 GLAAD award nominee for best film.

THE COUNTRY TEACHER, directed by Bohdan Slama, presents a realistic portrayal of a gay man in conflict that is free of the more annoying stereotypes one has come to expect from Hollywood. The movie tells the story of Petr (nicely underplayed by Pavel Liska), a closeted prep-school teacher from Prague who comes to a bucolic Czech village to instruct children in the natural sciences. In an early lesson he advises prophetically, “If we don’t understand nature, we can’t understand ourselves.”

Do Not Own.

Shortly after his arrival, Petr is befriended by Marie (Zuzana Bydzovska), a local cow herder who lives with her teen son Lada (Ladislav Sidivy). While tutoring Lada in math, Petr finds himself attracted to the young man and embarks on a course of action that has traumatic consequences. It made me wonder, if Petr had been an out gay man, would he have had the problems he had? Is it possible to have a healthy romantic relationship if you still have at least one foot in the closet?

This provocative yet sensitive movie doesn’t flinch from showing Petr’s feelings for Lada. We also see that certain cultural touchstones for adulthood are more relaxed in this rural community. There is no adult censure when 17-year-old Lada is seen drinking hard liquor or smoking pot and there is acceptance of his sexually active relationship with a young woman. Does the film show that homosexuality is also acceptable? Well, to a certain extent, yes, but there is also a good deal of bewilderment, fear and ignorance.

Director Bohdan Slama (LIKE HAPPINESS, THE WILD BEES) bravely declines to portray Petr as criminally disturbed and it was refreshing to see that Petr’s parents seemed more concerned about his loneliness than his sexual orientation. While Petr may have felt the need to be alone when he fled city life, he soon discovers that isolation is not the answer. As he stumbles awkwardly toward making bona fide human connections, he discovers they can be found in unanticipated places.

As for Marie’s reaction to Petr’s encounter with her son, Zuzana Bydzovska’s beautifully layered performance shows us that a cow herder can have a pretty sophisticated understanding of human nature. In fact, Marie’s intuitive abilities regarding both Petr and Lada left me wondering whether she was the real “country teacher” here.

For nature lovers, there are two graphic scenes showing a cow giving birth on Marie’s farm. I leave the symbolism for others to discern. But if you’re in the least bit squeamish, you’ve been warned!



KenG has worked in film and television for over twenty years and is a senior advisor to LinkTV’s Acquisition Division.




Amazon Associates: Buy the movie from this link, and the site will get a small percentage. If you do, thanks for supporting!