Nermudez had read books with queer characters before, of course for a bisexual bibliophile, there is no better path to self-discoverybut I had never owned any for myself. This is totally normal. What happens to all of them over the summer is so unexpected that no one can predict how it will change their friendship forever. Avery is a grouch, and I happen to love her. John Green Box Set. The more confused she became, the more true to life it felt.
I would have given it four stars, aside from a few things. Looking for More Great Reads? That was the key. This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website.
Maureen Johnson, Author. I loved the beginning of the book. They were even dubbed the Burmudez Triangle by a jealous girl who wasnt included in their group. That is, until Nina comes back and catches them kissing. Lists with This Book. Dec 20, Keris rated it it was amazing. As the two of them grow closer Nina finds herself growing apart. And things have changed in bermuddez last ten years.
I thought I just really liked certain people. This is the beginning of the struggle with labels in this book. Other than a few instances, Mel refers to herself and is referred to as gay, not lesbian. I don't know enough about lesbian politics to know if this is intentional and realistic, or just a slip on Johnson's part as a heterosexual cis-woman. Mel and Avery's entire relationship seems to revolve around visibility, especially Avery's fear of it. Where Mel reacts to being outted pragmatically with a minimum of embarrassment, Avery seems to live in fear of being seen as gay, view spoiler [which is arguably why Mel and Avery break up hide spoiler ].
The reader is led to sort of hate Avery for being so secretive and scared of her own sexuality, but can you really blame her when you see the environment she lives in? Both Avery and Mel have some serious internalized homophobia and biphobia, which I'll get to later. Mel's mom's reaction to finding out Mel is gay is a great example of this; she points out all the ways this is going to "ruin" Mel's life.
While Mel is portrayed as girly and cute, Avery realizes that she "would be seen as the rough dyke who lusted after the cheerleaders and couldn't be trusted in the locker room after gym" The irony is that Mel actually is a lesbian, whereas Avery refuses to admit what she is at all.
While Mel is a "gold-star lesbian" who knew all along and never really dated boys, Avery admits that she's confused and insists several times that she's not gay. At one point, she considers sitting with the other queer kids in the cafeteria, but then rejects that idea since she doesn't relate to any of them--nor does she want to be associated with bisexuals like "Felicia Clark, the outspoken 'if you have a pulse, I'm interested' bisexual sex addict" When Nina asks Avery about her sexuality, Avery becomes embarrassed when asked if she likes guys and girls.
Bisexuality becomes associated with excessive sexuality. For Avery, "something about that question made her feel like.. Like she wanted everyone. Guys, girls, dogs, cats, populations of whole cities" A conversation between Avery and Mel reveals Avery's resistance to labels of any kind, a kind of confusion that delegitimizes almost everything Avery does.
Mel stepped back in shock. She could understand that Avery might not feel comfortable being labeled gay--Mel still had trouble with this sometimes--but being bi wasn't exactly something she could deny. We're just…together While at the time, what Avery says sounds sort of romantic, setting her and Mel apart from labels, her statement appears invalid when viewed in the context view spoiler [of her rebound with Gaz not too much later in the novel hide spoiler ].
I glanced through a lot of other reviews, a lot of whom were very adamant about hating Avery as a character. In so many ways, Avery is the stereotypical confused, slutty bisexual: she gets involved in a serious, monogamous 'lesbian' relationship, but then her inherent bisexuality gets in the way and she goes off and sleeps with a guy because she can't handle the pressure of being a lesbian.
She has heterosexual privilege since her relationship with Mel represents her lesbian phase. And because she's so sexually confused, she ends up pushing away her two best friends.
She's so confused she can't even decide if she wants to apply to music school or not. I feel like the queer community is supposed to just love Maureen Johnson for writing this ground-breaking lesbian young adult novel as a straight woman. And then on top of that she's representing bisexuals too! The thing is, it's not enough to write queer characters. It's not enough to represent multiple sexual identities, especially when they're portrayed stereotypically and not analyzed whatsoever.
I wouldn't have minded the slut-shaming and the biphobic stereotypes if Johnson had just paused to analyze them, rather than portraying them as a statement of fact. Ultimately, this book really upset me. Sure, it's almost ten years old, but the reality is that bisexual people are still erased, still stereotyped, and no one wants to talk about it.
So yes, I'm angry at being represented by unquestioned stereotypes. I'm also angry that this is one of the 'best' lesbian young adult books out there. Ladies, we deserve more. View all 5 comments. Jul 02, Bren rated it it was amazing. My dad does this thing, where he reads the summaries of books I'm reading and then decides whether or not he is impressed. Whenever I'm reading some advanced adult literature or a classic, he just reads it and mumbles something about it being long or difficult.
Whenever I read a book by Maureen Johnson, he takes one look at the cover and declares, "That doesn't look like your style of book," or, "That looks kind of like a beach read. However, whenever I get the chance, I defend Maureen Johnson, because I think she is an amazing writer and this book was no exception. It was believable and realistic and funny and true. And it dealt with the issue of teens questioning their sexuality perfectly.
It was not in the least bit cliche, or stereotypical. I loved this book and I think everyone should read it. View 1 comment. Feb 03, jv poore rated it really liked it Shelves: own-it , realistic-fiction , young-adult. Maureen Johnson used to be "an author I really want to check out. Bermudez Triangle tackles serious issues with wit, grit and humor. Characters are true and they make real mistakes with actions and reactions honestly and unapologetically portrayed. The dialogue is spot-on, as is the spontaneity unique to the young.
This was a quick, compelling and captivating read and I'm sure the start of a whole new obsession. This is the book I wanted to read from Maureen Johnson; it's the story of Nina and her two best friends, Mel and Avery -- when Nina spends the summer at a pre-college program, Mel and Avery fall in love.
Johnson handles the difficulties of coming out in high school deftly, and Mel -- who struggles with knowing that she's gay and knowing that Avery, her girlfriend, probably isn't -- is a wonderfully sympathetic character, possibly my favorite in the book. The real world of course doesn't always h This is the book I wanted to read from Maureen Johnson; it's the story of Nina and her two best friends, Mel and Avery -- when Nina spends the summer at a pre-college program, Mel and Avery fall in love.
The real world of course doesn't always have a happy ending like the book does, but Nina's struggle with feeling left out when her two closest friends are in love, Avery's struggle with loving Mel but not being certain she's a lesbian, and Mel's broken heart all keep the book moving wonderfully, and unlike some of Johnson's other books, this felt like it played the emotional undertones out to their fullest extent.
I really liked it! This is the third book I've read by Maureen Johnson, and it was definitely my fave of her books that I've read so far; although 13 Little Blue Envelopes is a very close second, i thought parts of it were a little far-fetched. The characters were very well-developed, and the plot Wow! The characters were very well-developed, and the plot was gripping. I loved it, and highly recommend it. View all 4 comments. Dec 16, Lizzie rated it liked it Shelves: young-adult , , gave-away-or-left-behind.
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. I love this book's premise so, so, so very much. I think it does a marvelous job with a marvelous idea, and becomes a rather useful story about gay teenagers and friendship. I'm really glad it's a book. Some of the stuff holding it up didn't work as well for me, so this is gonna go on the record with 3 stars, because that weakness holds it back from being a really wonderful book.
But it is a wonderful subject. A few things could have balanced a little better for me. My biggest problem was Nina an I love this book's premise so, so, so very much. My biggest problem was Nina and this long-distance email boyfriend story. Few things about that. First, Nina's emails to him are clingy and unflattering. It's realistic, almost as realistic as Mel's more understandable, I think clingy excitement with Avery, and when those were happening at the same time I thought we were going to get a lesson about the parallel.
We didn't, but then when long-distance Steve went cold, I thought we were going to get a different lesson about it. Not so: Steve came back. And Nina said ok.
Said no to the charming good friend Parker, pawning him off to Scarf Girl in the last sentence like Ducky's random girl at the end of Pretty In Pink.
Still realistic? I can't help but think of how much I liked the boyfriend lesson in Johnson's story in Let It Snow , because it feels almost like a rewrite of this one: Sometimes the perfect achiever amazing guys are actually very bad for you, because truthfully, their achievement comes first in their hearts.
Now some additional business. I was going to mention in this review that it couldn't be more obvious that the book banners who come after this one couldn't be more wrong -- the characters' actual sexual feelings are handled very very discreetly, and a few teenage jokes are made regarding the subject at large, and that is it for "adult" content in the book.
So it is completely clear: this book gets banned because two girls date in it. So I was going to just say that, and then link over to the fantastic, amazing video rebuttal Maureen Johnson made for YouTube this summer when this flared up again in Florida. But as you'll see -- the video's gone.
So I'm completely thrown. Warner has inexplicably had it removed from the site for infringement. So that's What is going on? How could that be? Here's what I remember about her statements: In addition to pointing out the above facts herself that there is nothing at all to be considered "adult" in the novel , she highlighted that the main point is the positive response she has received about the book.
She talked about teenagers who have contacted her to thank her for a book that they felt helped them. She said, what gives you the right to make the decision to keep this book unavailable to someone who might need it? She did directly reference news footage from the time which could possibly be owned by WB , mostly interviews with her accusers getting the mic.
Though, to my memory she didn't use any footage, and just linked to some, which she suggested you watch so you know exactly what her attackers are saying. It was very well done. Just thought it should be said, since it seems she can't even oppose her own censorship without getting censored. Which is about the most shameful thing I've ever heard.
Should you happen to remember more of the author's statements from this video, I think it could be good to collect comments about it. I've read pages and I'll stop. The story is about three best friends in their senior year at High School.
The only person Nina would like to chew this out with is her absent and busy long-distance boyfriend Steve a summer souvenir I've read pages and I'll stop. The only person Nina would like to chew this out with is her absent and busy long-distance boyfriend Steve a summer souvenir , who is too considerate, too much in harmony with the environment and too friendly.
Readers like me get suspicious by this kind of overzealous behavior on the spot. It's not that I did not enjoy "The Bermudez Triangle" because of the lesbian love focus. Nina, Avery and Mel form the Bermudez Triangle: they have been best friends since they were little, and the summer before their senior year they have to face their first long separation. Nina is going to Stanford for a ten-week pre-university program, and Mel and Avery are staying in their home town in upstate New York and working at a newly.
These claims are unfounded.
0コメント