Book 832: Jay’s Gay Agenda – Jason June

This book was 100% written to be adapted into a movie or tv show. It even had locations and some stage direction already included. Maybe it’s from June’s background, I’m not sure, but as I was reading it definitely felt like a teen RomCom from the early 2000s.

I grabbed this from the library after seeing it on someone’s Insta (sorry don’t remember who, but might’ve actually been June doing a takeover somewhere) and thinking what a great name for a book without knowing anything other than the name and basic premise.

The book starts off with Jay realizing he’s gay in the most adorable way (oh hey Shawn Mendes) and then spends a few chapters with Jay as he wallows in his singleness and solitariness in eastern Washington. He’s the only out kid at school, none of the nearest towns have LGBT community groups, and he’s obsessed with random stats.

Then right before senior year, big life changes with his mom moving the family to Seattle for a job opportunity and queue ALL. THE. DRAMA. There are multiple love interests, adorkable Albert who plays a Pokémon knockoff and builds printer robots and Tony the college frat bro who is as bad as he sounds, a new gender queer BFF, Max who considers himself Jay’s Jizz Genie (which legit died when I read that). AND there’s the drama leaving Lu, his childhood bestie, behind.

June does a great job of balancing Jay’s obsessiveness with facts and figures, his desperation at connecting with other gay teens, and his teenage hormones which cannot have been an easy feat. Jay absolutely makes an ass of himself to so many characters and I spent most of the novel wanting to shake some sense into him or give him a hug for his sheer idiotic cluelessness.

For years, I had thought of the Gay Agenda as a way to fit in, to be part of the group that could talk about hand-holding and kissing and someday having sex. But seeing Albert look at me like that, flirting with me like that, I realized the Gay Agenda was so much more. It was about connecting with another person. I’d always felt like this overlooked, sexless, invisible thing that just had to stand by while everyone else was noticed. Sure, hand-holding and kissing and coming together all seemed like they would feel good when I eventually got to do those things. But I never knew that I’d feel more like a complete person when someone else recognized me as somebody they could want. Sexually, romantically, flirtingly, all of it. The Gay Agenda made me feel more complete. Like a human being worthy of love and connection instead of some lonely sideshow. (Loc. 1,293)

My initial instinct was to say that June rushed the book, the whole thing takes place in the first 2-3 months of school but then I remember high school, college and summer camp and how quickly shit happened from relationships and friendships burning bright and flaming out fast to first times and yeah it felt right by the end.

June doesn’t shy away from the hard truths of growing up gay and alone, and doesn’t pull any punches on Jay’s introduction to the gay world from breaking Albert’s heart, finding out Tony is a skeezball and almost losing his two best friends because he (or they) can’t keep their stories aligned.

Albert’s confession made me realize just how dangerous stereotypes could be. Ever since I’d come out, I’d been hyper-aware of gay tropes, trying to dispel them, letting my classmates know that just because I was into certain stereotypically gay things didn’t make them some law of nature of what it meant to be gay. It was frustrating and annoying, but Albert was sharing how stereotypes can affect a person’s body. How they can dehumanize someone so much that they make choices that feel completely wrong just to prove they are human. It wasn’t right. (Loc. 3,113)

But, in the end Jay grows up in those 2-3 months. Sure, he crashed and burned and torched quite a few relationships on his way down, but he does his best to become a better person and learn from his mistakes and gets his happy for now that you desperately want him to get. I was glad that Jay’s family was accepting and that we saw homelessness from a different perspective (you’ll have to read to find out).

If I have a major critique of the book it’s the sex scene. I get that June (or their publishers) probably didn’t want it to be too explicit—I mean kudos for actually having it on the page—but there were definitely quite a few steps skipped when it came down to it (lube and prep is most definitely your friend and it should be mentioned on the page) I was a little anxious that some little gayby would read the book and be like oh it’s easy as 1 . . . 2 . . . 3. But maybe that’s just me in all my old age 😀

Recommendation: This book is begging to be turned into a film or Netflix show. Honestly, it read like one and I thoroughly enjoyed it. A lot happens in the 2-3 months the book covers with so many characters having to grow up and really that’s what high school is all about, whether you want it to be or not. I’m glad it ended the way it did and I’m not sure I want there to be a sequel or if there is I hope it’s not about Jay unless it’s like 5-10 years down the line.

Opening Line: “I’m not exactly sure what the stats are on people realizing they’re gay because of pop stars, but for me it was 100 percent.”

Closing Line: “But I didn’t think it would take too long.” (Whited out to avoid spoilers, highlight to read.)

Additional Quotes from Jay’s Gay Agenda
“I finally knew what Shawn meant about being in stitches without someone’s kisses, and I screamed just as loud as anyone else in that stadium for kisses from another boy.” (Loc. 39)

“Soon after, I made a list—my preferred method of organization—of everybody else I needed to come out to.
COME OUT TO CREW
1. Mom (will take it the easiest and probably buy rainbow shirts for the whole family)
2.Grandma and Grandpa (Gpa might not get it, but Gma will insist she just wants me to be happy)
3.The entire school (could result in pitchfork-wielding protests in front of our log cabin)
4.Dad (huge unknown—can’t tell if his strong silent type is toxically masculine or open and accepting)” (Loc. 55)

“That had to be a sign from some deity (or Michelle Obama or whoever brings all of humanity together) and as good a lead-in as any to spill the rainbow-colored beans. ‘I was just stressing about how to tell you that . . . I’m gay.'” (Loc. 83)

“Just because I’m obsessed with the movies doesn’t mean a Lord of the Rings reference is going to change my mind.” (Loc. 222)

“I recently learned that trees can flourish on six out of seven continents (sorry, Antarctica), yet not even one other boy who likes to kiss boys can grow anywhere on this side of the state.” (Loc. 270)

“It meant I had to watch every PornTube clip with no sound, so while I can imagine sex clearly, I’m still not sure what kind of noises you’re supposed to make.” (Loc. 294)

“I was stunned. I didn’t know what to say. My initial reaction was to run to my room and grab the Gay Agenda so I could start adding more Seattle-specific references to each item. Things like, Get caught in a torrential downpour and dramatically kiss a boy or See if date with cute guy is offered as part of Amazon Prime seeing as how Amazon is based there.” (Loc. 347)

“I accept the position as your Gay Guide, your Libido Liberator, and your Jizz Genie. I will make all your sex wishes come true!” (Loc. 777)

“How could one person say so few words but pack them with so much sexiness? Was there some sort of hot magic class where all the spells instantly turn people on? Abraca-boner! It had to be a thing, and Tony had to have aced it. He was a wizard when it came to giving me a hard-on with the shortest of sentences.” (Loc. 2,067)

“We sprinted the last couple of blocks to GameWorks when it started to pour, providing the optimal rom-com environment for a rain-drenched kiss. In my hunt for real-world stats, I’d found that a very large number of people’s highest-rated kissing scenes include rain because 1) it adds drama to an already heightened emotional moment, and 2) it makes people’s clothes cling to them so that dramatic moment suddenly turns sexy. I totally got it as Albert’s shirt wrapped closer and closer to his torso with each passing second.” (Loc. 2,296)

“Turns out, you can be a gentleman to another gentleman, gay chivalry does exist, and there was no limit to the amount of times Albert could make me swoon.” (Loc. 2,316)

“I once deep dove into virginity stats, and I saw this Reddit post that said four people lose their virginity every second. One second was all it took. One second I was a virgin, and in the very next, just the right amount of time for Tony to push into me, I wasn’t. In the millisecond leading up to that moment, all those emotions I was feeling before raged inside me a thousand times heavier. Scared, nervous, excited, hard, but so fracking ready. Then, in that next moment, feeling pleasure, pain, so many things, one thought stood out the most: I was so happy to be one of those four people.” (Loc. 2,853)