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The Gay Teen's Guide to Defeating a Siren #1
The Gay Teen's Guide to Defeating a Siren
Check out the spiffy new edition here. It features a brand spanking new cover and includes the first chapter of book 2.
2016 National Indie Excellence Awards, 1st Place Winner, LGBTQ YA Fiction
2016 Readers' Favorite Book Award Winner
2015 New England Book Festival, 2nd Place, Gay Fiction
2015 Los Angeles Book Festival, Honorable Mention, Young Adult Fiction
Came out of the closet by accident? Check.
Sent off to a pray-away-the-gay school? Miserable check.
Shenanigans ensued? Mega-quadruple check.
Blaize Trales’s world falls apart when he’s dragged to Sanctuary Preparatory Academy, a boarding school that claims to fix gay teens. The place sucks so much they even serve food like “Cleansing Corn.� Blaize’s misguided parents eat it up and hand him over for brainwashing.
But things at Sanctuary aren’t what they appear. Blaize soon discovers the school’s antics are all a lie. They’re also at war with an ancient enemy. Between surviving bullies, rescuing students from mysterious attacks, and passing algebra, Blaize’s life is going to get out-of-control crazy.
And freaking dangerous.
Lucky for Blaize, he wields the ultimate weapon—being gay. And he’s pretty good at it.
2016 National Indie Excellence Awards, 1st Place Winner, LGBTQ YA Fiction
2016 Readers' Favorite Book Award Winner
2015 New England Book Festival, 2nd Place, Gay Fiction
2015 Los Angeles Book Festival, Honorable Mention, Young Adult Fiction
Came out of the closet by accident? Check.
Sent off to a pray-away-the-gay school? Miserable check.
Shenanigans ensued? Mega-quadruple check.
Blaize Trales’s world falls apart when he’s dragged to Sanctuary Preparatory Academy, a boarding school that claims to fix gay teens. The place sucks so much they even serve food like “Cleansing Corn.� Blaize’s misguided parents eat it up and hand him over for brainwashing.
But things at Sanctuary aren’t what they appear. Blaize soon discovers the school’s antics are all a lie. They’re also at war with an ancient enemy. Between surviving bullies, rescuing students from mysterious attacks, and passing algebra, Blaize’s life is going to get out-of-control crazy.
And freaking dangerous.
Lucky for Blaize, he wields the ultimate weapon—being gay. And he’s pretty good at it.
322 pages, Paperback
First published October 27, 2015
39 people are currently reading
889 people want to read
About the author
Cody Wagner
3Ìýbooks65ÌýfollowersCody Wagner loves to sing, mime (not really), and create. He writes about topics ranging from superpowers to trees that can spell. His debut novel, The Gay Teen’s Guide to Defeating a Siren, was recently released. He’s handing out cookie dough to everyone who grabs a copy. Check out his writing and see more of his wackiness at or follow him on Twitter @cfjwagner.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 56 reviews
June 30, 2020
The key to survival is...being gay. At least it is in Book 1 of
The Gay Teen's Guide to Defeating a Siren
.
Fourteen-year-old Blaize Trales (yep) doesn’t want anyone in his tiny Texas town, including his parents, to know he’s gay. But when he inadvertently outs himself, his parents immediately pack him up and send him to Sanctuary Preparatory Academy, a school that promises to “heal� gay teens.
As if trying to be “healed� isn’t bad enough, and dealing with the usual high school problems—class work, bullying, a crush on someone seemingly unattainable—Blaize discovers that the school is hiding a major secret. Apparently there’s an old enemy at the loose and it’s wreaking havoc, and Blaize might be the only one who can stop it.
Does he have what it takes to save the day?
This was an interesting book, with shades of Harry Potter and dashes of sarcasm. A lot of the story was setting up for the sequel but there definitely was plenty going on.
While I enjoyed the concept of the book, at times it was a little too silly for me. (It almost felt at times like the book should have been accompanied by a laugh track.) I felt like the book just wasn’t sure what it wanted to be. But the fantasy elements were fun, and it was nice to have a gay hero of sorts.
This was definitely an interesting selection for Pride Reads!!
Check out my list of the best books I read in 2019 at .
Check out my list of the best books of the decade at .
See all of my reviews at .
Follow me on Instagram at .
Fourteen-year-old Blaize Trales (yep) doesn’t want anyone in his tiny Texas town, including his parents, to know he’s gay. But when he inadvertently outs himself, his parents immediately pack him up and send him to Sanctuary Preparatory Academy, a school that promises to “heal� gay teens.
As if trying to be “healed� isn’t bad enough, and dealing with the usual high school problems—class work, bullying, a crush on someone seemingly unattainable—Blaize discovers that the school is hiding a major secret. Apparently there’s an old enemy at the loose and it’s wreaking havoc, and Blaize might be the only one who can stop it.
Does he have what it takes to save the day?
This was an interesting book, with shades of Harry Potter and dashes of sarcasm. A lot of the story was setting up for the sequel but there definitely was plenty going on.
While I enjoyed the concept of the book, at times it was a little too silly for me. (It almost felt at times like the book should have been accompanied by a laugh track.) I felt like the book just wasn’t sure what it wanted to be. But the fantasy elements were fun, and it was nice to have a gay hero of sorts.
This was definitely an interesting selection for Pride Reads!!
Check out my list of the best books I read in 2019 at .
Check out my list of the best books of the decade at .
See all of my reviews at .
Follow me on Instagram at .
August 27, 2016
Wagner's book, which is apparently the first in a series, is what happens when you combine the plotbunnies of "What if one of those gay conversion therapy camps was scamming the parents and all the kids inside got to grow up in a secret supportive environment instead?" and "What if Hogwarts had queer students?" The similarities to the Harry Potter books jumped out at me right away -- the principal is an appealing, fatherly figure who's hiding things about magical bad guys from the students, the protagonist quickly acquires a smart, assertive female friend, and by the end of the book a paranormal Big Bad has taken precedence over stressing about tests and bullies.
There are some interesting differences, though. The Golden Trio is replaced by a Golden Quartet that isn't all white, for one thing. There's a main character death that I wasn't expecting because the HP books didn't get that dark until book four (disclaimer since I know my fellow queer girls will go there: it is not either of the MC's two lesbian besties.) The paranormal aspect of the book is also really different from Rowling's in that it posits the idea: what if some of the homophobes out there are being mind-controlled by evil magical forces? In other words, unlike the complete sequestering from the outside world that Rowling's magic users adopt, this one is related directly to it. Also, this is different from Hogwarts in that the kids aren't at a magic school--they're at a regular school, just one for queer kids that's lying to parents and saying it's a cure camp--but it still felt very Hogwartsy to me.
An interesting detail that I appreciated is that, like most other YA I've read, the main character has to deal with the "cool kid" bullies. Even when everyone at the entire school is gay like he is. As someone who was hurt quite a bit by a "cool couple" within my queer community as a teenager this really resonated. We can be kind of awful to each other even within our marginalizations. And there's a lot more to being accepted than marginalizations or lack thereof--there's that intangible, elusive quality of "cool" that often has a lot to do with not expressing your interests too enthusiastically or who knows what else.
There's a lot less romance than I've usually read in YA -- just the faintest hints (the bullies are a couple, the protagonist does get one kiss, & you can tell who the love interest is going to be as the series moves forward) -- but given the age of the kids that makes complete sense and it's also really important that we get queer YA out there that shows queer kids making friends with each other and getting to live a queer life apart of specifically romantic and/or sexual relationships.
Something else I thought was neat about the book is that, while YA in first person often has faily statements on the part of the teenage narrator -- for example, fat-shaming -- this book was the first one I'd ever seen where the instant the narrator says something faily he immediately dials it back. He knows he fucked up. Like, there's a whole paragraph of him criticizing a homophobic pastor's appearance, and then he backpedals and acknowledges he's being unfair to criticize the way he looks instead of who he is as a person. I am so grateful for that. There is so much gratuitous fat-shaming in YA, and even if it's supposed to be unreliable narrator kids don't always know that. He even follows up a comment about Nazis with admitting he doesn't know what he's talking about. (It wasn't antisemitic, but it was an inappropriate comparison--think Godwin's Law--and I was so impressed that the character swallowed his own words within the same paragraph.)
It's hard for me to know what to do with the ending emotionally because while it was a good ending, it's also like the Harry Potter books in that now I need to wait for the next book to see where this is going. The Big Bad is still out there, but the students being protected by the school are still safe from their parents and from the outside world.
Definitely worth a read if you're one of those people constantly grasping for "but where were we" in your Hogwarts fan-time, and love the idea of vast conspiracies of gay teachers protecting gay students from homophobic parents. There isn't really bi representation in this book (and if there were trans kids at the school they weren't mentioned or shown) but I didn't catch any biphobia, either.
There are some interesting differences, though. The Golden Trio is replaced by a Golden Quartet that isn't all white, for one thing. There's a main character death that I wasn't expecting because the HP books didn't get that dark until book four (disclaimer since I know my fellow queer girls will go there: it is not either of the MC's two lesbian besties.) The paranormal aspect of the book is also really different from Rowling's in that it posits the idea: what if some of the homophobes out there are being mind-controlled by evil magical forces? In other words, unlike the complete sequestering from the outside world that Rowling's magic users adopt, this one is related directly to it. Also, this is different from Hogwarts in that the kids aren't at a magic school--they're at a regular school, just one for queer kids that's lying to parents and saying it's a cure camp--but it still felt very Hogwartsy to me.
An interesting detail that I appreciated is that, like most other YA I've read, the main character has to deal with the "cool kid" bullies. Even when everyone at the entire school is gay like he is. As someone who was hurt quite a bit by a "cool couple" within my queer community as a teenager this really resonated. We can be kind of awful to each other even within our marginalizations. And there's a lot more to being accepted than marginalizations or lack thereof--there's that intangible, elusive quality of "cool" that often has a lot to do with not expressing your interests too enthusiastically or who knows what else.
There's a lot less romance than I've usually read in YA -- just the faintest hints (the bullies are a couple, the protagonist does get one kiss, & you can tell who the love interest is going to be as the series moves forward) -- but given the age of the kids that makes complete sense and it's also really important that we get queer YA out there that shows queer kids making friends with each other and getting to live a queer life apart of specifically romantic and/or sexual relationships.
Something else I thought was neat about the book is that, while YA in first person often has faily statements on the part of the teenage narrator -- for example, fat-shaming -- this book was the first one I'd ever seen where the instant the narrator says something faily he immediately dials it back. He knows he fucked up. Like, there's a whole paragraph of him criticizing a homophobic pastor's appearance, and then he backpedals and acknowledges he's being unfair to criticize the way he looks instead of who he is as a person. I am so grateful for that. There is so much gratuitous fat-shaming in YA, and even if it's supposed to be unreliable narrator kids don't always know that. He even follows up a comment about Nazis with admitting he doesn't know what he's talking about. (It wasn't antisemitic, but it was an inappropriate comparison--think Godwin's Law--and I was so impressed that the character swallowed his own words within the same paragraph.)
It's hard for me to know what to do with the ending emotionally because while it was a good ending, it's also like the Harry Potter books in that now I need to wait for the next book to see where this is going. The Big Bad is still out there, but the students being protected by the school are still safe from their parents and from the outside world.
Definitely worth a read if you're one of those people constantly grasping for "but where were we" in your Hogwarts fan-time, and love the idea of vast conspiracies of gay teachers protecting gay students from homophobic parents. There isn't really bi representation in this book (and if there were trans kids at the school they weren't mentioned or shown) but I didn't catch any biphobia, either.
December 2, 2015
I have to confess. I read one of the very, very, very first drafts of this book (from what I understood, there were several) and I very much enjoyed it. However, I enjoyed the final version even more!
Blaize Trales (yes, that's his real name) is a gay teen in a small town. This is not an idyllic situation. After a series of unfortunate events, Blaize is sent off to Sanctuary Preparatory Academy - one of THOSE schools.
But as it turns out, life at Sanctuary is anything but ordinary and far from what Blaize expects. I don't want to give away any spoilers, because one of my favorite things about Cody Wagner's writing style is his keen voice and his knack for surprising his readers in the best way possible.
The first time I read this book, I thought I was going to be reading a run-of-the-mill, coming-of-age, LGBT YA book. You know, one of those feel-good novels about love and self acceptance, but that get kind of boring after a while. Like Blaize, reading The Gay Teen's Guide to Defeating a Siren was nothing like I expected. There's adventure, comedy, friendship, and best of all� Supernatural Mythology in a Modern Day World! Not your average coming-of-age YA book by a long shot!
The best part is that now that I've finished the book, I'm dying to know what happens next. I need to know who this Siren is, how she works, and why she's targeting specific groups. I also really want to know if Blaize will end up with the guy I want him to end up with� but that might just be me being a girl who can't resist a bit of romance.
Well done, Cody! Your debut is a triumph!
Blaize Trales (yes, that's his real name) is a gay teen in a small town. This is not an idyllic situation. After a series of unfortunate events, Blaize is sent off to Sanctuary Preparatory Academy - one of THOSE schools.
But as it turns out, life at Sanctuary is anything but ordinary and far from what Blaize expects. I don't want to give away any spoilers, because one of my favorite things about Cody Wagner's writing style is his keen voice and his knack for surprising his readers in the best way possible.
The first time I read this book, I thought I was going to be reading a run-of-the-mill, coming-of-age, LGBT YA book. You know, one of those feel-good novels about love and self acceptance, but that get kind of boring after a while. Like Blaize, reading The Gay Teen's Guide to Defeating a Siren was nothing like I expected. There's adventure, comedy, friendship, and best of all� Supernatural Mythology in a Modern Day World! Not your average coming-of-age YA book by a long shot!
The best part is that now that I've finished the book, I'm dying to know what happens next. I need to know who this Siren is, how she works, and why she's targeting specific groups. I also really want to know if Blaize will end up with the guy I want him to end up with� but that might just be me being a girl who can't resist a bit of romance.
Well done, Cody! Your debut is a triumph!
January 5, 2021
TW: Homophobie, Mobbing
Wow. Dieses Buch war einfach ein richtiges Abenteuer. Es war eine Mischung aus Percy Jackson und Winger, und jeder der mich kennt, weiß, dass solche Geschichten meinen Namen schreien. Ich liebe einfach Internatsgeschichten mit einer tollen Freundesgruppe. Die Charaktere waren so greifbar und toll gezeichnet, ich bin hin und weg.
Das Ende hat mich richtig zerstört und ich kann kaum es kaum erwarten, den zweiten Teil zu lesen!
Wow. Dieses Buch war einfach ein richtiges Abenteuer. Es war eine Mischung aus Percy Jackson und Winger, und jeder der mich kennt, weiß, dass solche Geschichten meinen Namen schreien. Ich liebe einfach Internatsgeschichten mit einer tollen Freundesgruppe. Die Charaktere waren so greifbar und toll gezeichnet, ich bin hin und weg.
Das Ende hat mich richtig zerstört und ich kann kaum es kaum erwarten, den zweiten Teil zu lesen!
October 18, 2018
This book is not good.
February 21, 2019
So this was a fun read. When looking at the title you'd probably assume it was full of fantasy, but to be fair for the most part this book was just about a bunch of kids living and learning at a private school.
So when Blaize accidentally comes out to his super religious parents they send him to a conversion camp, only when he gets there he realises it isn't a camp to convert, it's a camp to protect. A safe haven for gay kids who's family would want to send them away to 'fix' them.
There are a couple of side characters who all have their own personality, and some random but fun plot points (like The Pumpkin�)
What I didn't like - Although I did enjoy just the normality of going to school and having friends, I would have liked the whole Siren plot to be a little more constant throughout, or at least take centre (or side) stage a bit earlier on. For 90% of this book it read like a normal middle grade contemporary, but with a title as fantastic as The Gay Teen's Guide To Defeating A Siren, i would have liked to see a bit more magical realism.
What I did like - The introduction was done really well, and left you guessing about what this story is going to be. Everything seems a bit sinister, and you don't know what things you should be wary of, and what things are purposefully being shown as negative. I enjoyed all of the main gang, they all had their own personalities but managed to mesh well together. I liked that we saw some plot points that weren't just your regular 'school highlights', like the aforementioned pumpkin plot, the random gift givings and workout sessions. The bits of ~fantastical~ information we did learn were intriguing, and are sure to unfold a lot more in book two. The ending was great, I totally wasn't expecting certain things to happen, so when they did it was a bit of a 'no way!' moment.
So when Blaize accidentally comes out to his super religious parents they send him to a conversion camp, only when he gets there he realises it isn't a camp to convert, it's a camp to protect. A safe haven for gay kids who's family would want to send them away to 'fix' them.
There are a couple of side characters who all have their own personality, and some random but fun plot points (like The Pumpkin�)
What I didn't like - Although I did enjoy just the normality of going to school and having friends, I would have liked the whole Siren plot to be a little more constant throughout, or at least take centre (or side) stage a bit earlier on. For 90% of this book it read like a normal middle grade contemporary, but with a title as fantastic as The Gay Teen's Guide To Defeating A Siren, i would have liked to see a bit more magical realism.
What I did like - The introduction was done really well, and left you guessing about what this story is going to be. Everything seems a bit sinister, and you don't know what things you should be wary of, and what things are purposefully being shown as negative. I enjoyed all of the main gang, they all had their own personalities but managed to mesh well together. I liked that we saw some plot points that weren't just your regular 'school highlights', like the aforementioned pumpkin plot, the random gift givings and workout sessions. The bits of ~fantastical~ information we did learn were intriguing, and are sure to unfold a lot more in book two. The ending was great, I totally wasn't expecting certain things to happen, so when they did it was a bit of a 'no way!' moment.
April 4, 2016
I've never read a book in the "Gay/Lesbian" category before, and when I learned that the story was mainly about teens and preteens, I wasn't sure what to expect.
What I got was a magnificent story about teenage angst, awkwardness and friendship. Yes, the fact that most of the characters were gay was the main theme of the book, but the story wasn't really about that, specifically. It wasn't that they were homosexual, it was that they were different ... and as such, were the unjust targets of bullying, isolationism and prejudice, of the most horrible kind.
Cody Wagner does something in his first book that I think is a great sign of things to come - he outlines just how friggin' stupid homophobia and, in fact, ALL prejudice is, and draws a big red circle around it. But he does it in a way that incorporates the main characters' youth and innocence, and more than a little sense of whimsy. There is also just a HINT of something supernatural going on - could a mythical siren be responsible for converting otherwise normal people into homophobic jerks? - but it is barely touched upon. I think this is because Mr. Wagner wanted to use this book to set up the characters and the story without using the fantastical as a crutch to hold it up.
The characters are SO endearing, and may be kids that we all know or knew. Blaize Trales (great name!!) is skinny and gangly and aloof. His roommate Jimmy is chubby and annoying yet somehow insidiously endearing, and his other roommate Cassie is young enough to be adorable and yet still precocious enough to be the wisest (by far) of the group. The way these three, as well as an older girl named Roze, bond as friends is a joy to read.
I won't lie - the ending of the story threw me for a loop, and really tugged at my heartstrings. The very notion of being so different that your own family and friends won't accept you for who you are is a scary one, and this book throws that fear into sharp relief, without even once losing the humor and innocence that stories about kids, and for kids, should have.
Bravo, Mr. Wagner. Please hurry and finish Part Two!
What I got was a magnificent story about teenage angst, awkwardness and friendship. Yes, the fact that most of the characters were gay was the main theme of the book, but the story wasn't really about that, specifically. It wasn't that they were homosexual, it was that they were different ... and as such, were the unjust targets of bullying, isolationism and prejudice, of the most horrible kind.
Cody Wagner does something in his first book that I think is a great sign of things to come - he outlines just how friggin' stupid homophobia and, in fact, ALL prejudice is, and draws a big red circle around it. But he does it in a way that incorporates the main characters' youth and innocence, and more than a little sense of whimsy. There is also just a HINT of something supernatural going on - could a mythical siren be responsible for converting otherwise normal people into homophobic jerks? - but it is barely touched upon. I think this is because Mr. Wagner wanted to use this book to set up the characters and the story without using the fantastical as a crutch to hold it up.
The characters are SO endearing, and may be kids that we all know or knew. Blaize Trales (great name!!) is skinny and gangly and aloof. His roommate Jimmy is chubby and annoying yet somehow insidiously endearing, and his other roommate Cassie is young enough to be adorable and yet still precocious enough to be the wisest (by far) of the group. The way these three, as well as an older girl named Roze, bond as friends is a joy to read.
I won't lie - the ending of the story threw me for a loop, and really tugged at my heartstrings. The very notion of being so different that your own family and friends won't accept you for who you are is a scary one, and this book throws that fear into sharp relief, without even once losing the humor and innocence that stories about kids, and for kids, should have.
Bravo, Mr. Wagner. Please hurry and finish Part Two!
October 6, 2020
I think the nicest thing I could say about this book is that there is probably a very good prequel novella buried somewhere in here. I was optimistic at the beginning of the book that this would be a fun [if a little bit juvenile but that's understandable all things considered] realistic fantasy book centered around mythology ala Percy Jackson and many other series since then. Unfortunately the siren/seeker stuff doesn't really come into play until the last handful of chapters and even then we still don't actually know anything about it, just that
I get that the author probably wanted to tell this story first since it involves but this did NOT need to be an entire 100k word novel. I was bored by most of it and downright baffled by some of it. Also, and I guess this might be a little bit nitpicky, but this book only seems to acknowledge the existence of gay and lesbian kids, no mention of bisexuals or any of the other various lgbtq orientations. Normally I wouldn't be so focused on it but there is this weird roommate system where there are two boys and one girl in every room so that they can 'hold each other accountable' or whatever and I'm just like ...ok cool ...m-spec people exist? Also what is the implication that there are apparently twice as many gay boys as lesbian girls at this school? It was literally one throwaway paragraph but it was all I was thinking about for the rest of the book. Granted there wasn't much else to think about because the plot is nearly non existent but it was still really weird to me.
Anyway, it's possible that this series will get better with the next book because surely they HAVE to explain what is actually going on then, but I'm so annoyed with this one that I don't really want to read it at this point. I honestly can't say if middle grade readers would enjoy this more than I did. Maybe some of them would but I know I would have just been flipping through it like 'but where are the magical creatures!'. Definitely less of a fantastical element than the title would lead you to believe.
I get that the author probably wanted to tell this story first since it involves but this did NOT need to be an entire 100k word novel. I was bored by most of it and downright baffled by some of it. Also, and I guess this might be a little bit nitpicky, but this book only seems to acknowledge the existence of gay and lesbian kids, no mention of bisexuals or any of the other various lgbtq orientations. Normally I wouldn't be so focused on it but there is this weird roommate system where there are two boys and one girl in every room so that they can 'hold each other accountable' or whatever and I'm just like ...ok cool ...m-spec people exist? Also what is the implication that there are apparently twice as many gay boys as lesbian girls at this school? It was literally one throwaway paragraph but it was all I was thinking about for the rest of the book. Granted there wasn't much else to think about because the plot is nearly non existent but it was still really weird to me.
Anyway, it's possible that this series will get better with the next book because surely they HAVE to explain what is actually going on then, but I'm so annoyed with this one that I don't really want to read it at this point. I honestly can't say if middle grade readers would enjoy this more than I did. Maybe some of them would but I know I would have just been flipping through it like 'but where are the magical creatures!'. Definitely less of a fantastical element than the title would lead you to believe.
February 28, 2024
4.5 Rounded up. I really enjoyed this. I loved what this story did especially with the overall theme. However, I have to take half point away because I did find some of the wording surrounding one particular character to be rather fatphobic. There were just terms that I felt were unnecessary at times just to remind you that this kid is weird AND fat and obviously that's his fault. He was a fantastic character and it just kind of made me not like the MC because his own thoughts towards him just felt rude and unnecessary.
With that being said, I am devastated by the death in this book and am anxious to continue the story on. I loved Roze and want to learn a lot more about her. I'm curious about Cassie, I feel like she didn't get even page time for me to fully connect and I fully thought she was going to betray the group at some point (but that might be because she reminded me of a certain traitorous character in Babel lol).
Otherwise, definitely a great read!
With that being said, I am devastated by the death in this book and am anxious to continue the story on. I loved Roze and want to learn a lot more about her. I'm curious about Cassie, I feel like she didn't get even page time for me to fully connect and I fully thought she was going to betray the group at some point (but that might be because she reminded me of a certain traitorous character in Babel lol).
Otherwise, definitely a great read!
July 19, 2019
I didn't expect that this novel would be fantasy, instead I thought this novel was a contemporary genre. I just found out that this novel is fantasy in part towards the ending, I don't read the synopsis. But the story is great.
March 2, 2016
4.0 of 5 stars � Light-Hearted, Gay-Friendly Twist on Conversion Therapy.
I love gay YA and supernatural tales, and this had a wonderful, whimsical, even symbolic storyline to go with it.
I was fooled (even though it was in the blurb, so not a spoiler here) by the opening premise of glbtq teens having to get healed, only to find out that the institution was a front with a pro-glbtq agenda (the first of several twists). And what a humorous twist it was that played in multiple ways. But there was still the reality of teenagers in high school, and Cody Wagner did a good job of weaving that into the mix in a credible way. Then there was the delight of finding out about a supernatural enemy, which added nicely as a mystery to build up tension. And underlaying this was some hidden symbolism; and I may have read too much into it, but that was where the story took me at least.
Along the way I met the MC, who was a good guy with a kind heart; but sometimes, as teens a prone to be, a little self-centered and not overly perceptive of or sensitive to others. But I gave him points for how his genuine spunk and courage carried him through, including admitting to, and apologizing for, his mistakes. The cast of other characters were also nicely drawn and generally likable, with others not so much so; but again, that was a good reality. However, it fell short for me by being a bit naive. or PG. Just as one instance, there was a bit of a whitewash about what and how often teenage boys think about sex. This and other things could have been included in a pc way, and still fit realistically and logically into the plot. And the supernatural subplot was a bit simple, at least in this debut of the series. When it surfaced, I was hoping for a richer subtext, but I also realize it would have been difficult to still keep it more of an unknown mystery at this point.
Probably the biggest disappointment was that it was only part 1. I wasn’t expecting that (if it was there, I didn't pick that up in the promo). And even if it was just part 1, it still left me hanging more than some other part 1’s. It didn’t have a nice resolution even for this part of the story to leave me satisfied. Ultimately, while I wanted a final resolution at the end, I was ok with the quest continuing.
So overall, this was an enjoyable tale of glbtq high school adventure, with a humorous, as well as a supernatural twist, and some underlying meanings.
I love gay YA and supernatural tales, and this had a wonderful, whimsical, even symbolic storyline to go with it.
I was fooled (even though it was in the blurb, so not a spoiler here) by the opening premise of glbtq teens having to get healed, only to find out that the institution was a front with a pro-glbtq agenda (the first of several twists). And what a humorous twist it was that played in multiple ways. But there was still the reality of teenagers in high school, and Cody Wagner did a good job of weaving that into the mix in a credible way. Then there was the delight of finding out about a supernatural enemy, which added nicely as a mystery to build up tension. And underlaying this was some hidden symbolism; and I may have read too much into it, but that was where the story took me at least.
Along the way I met the MC, who was a good guy with a kind heart; but sometimes, as teens a prone to be, a little self-centered and not overly perceptive of or sensitive to others. But I gave him points for how his genuine spunk and courage carried him through, including admitting to, and apologizing for, his mistakes. The cast of other characters were also nicely drawn and generally likable, with others not so much so; but again, that was a good reality. However, it fell short for me by being a bit naive. or PG. Just as one instance, there was a bit of a whitewash about what and how often teenage boys think about sex. This and other things could have been included in a pc way, and still fit realistically and logically into the plot. And the supernatural subplot was a bit simple, at least in this debut of the series. When it surfaced, I was hoping for a richer subtext, but I also realize it would have been difficult to still keep it more of an unknown mystery at this point.
Probably the biggest disappointment was that it was only part 1. I wasn’t expecting that (if it was there, I didn't pick that up in the promo). And even if it was just part 1, it still left me hanging more than some other part 1’s. It didn’t have a nice resolution even for this part of the story to leave me satisfied. Ultimately, while I wanted a final resolution at the end, I was ok with the quest continuing.
So overall, this was an enjoyable tale of glbtq high school adventure, with a humorous, as well as a supernatural twist, and some underlying meanings.
February 26, 2016
The Gay Teen's Guide to Defeating a Siren was a fun glbtq YA story with a wink-wink nudge-nudge and a slight supernatural twist.
I had fun with the author about his inside joke of the main setting appearing to be a healing center for glbtq kids, but in reality it was a sanctuary supporting their identities. Yet it was not immune to issues amongst the teenagers of cliques, bullying and peer pressure. And it also wasn’t immune to the typical coming-of-age compounded by coming-out issues with family and community. In this and other ways, Cody Wagner had a good feel for the language and actions of teenagers, and for the struggles of glbtq teens.
I liked the people here. The MC was not perfect but human, with a good set of friends and teachers; and the others who I was not as keen about still had their issues to deal with as well. And on top of this, I was drawn in with the mystery of the ancient supernatural “enemy� mixed in with your typical teenager’s high school life. Yet, and I thank Wagner for this, there were doses of reality as well, with not everyone being spared pain in the process, and some tough twists to deal with along the way.
All making for a believable and engaging story, worth 4.5 stars IMHO.
[I'm excited to have won this as a Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ First Read â€� so thanks, Cody!]
I had fun with the author about his inside joke of the main setting appearing to be a healing center for glbtq kids, but in reality it was a sanctuary supporting their identities. Yet it was not immune to issues amongst the teenagers of cliques, bullying and peer pressure. And it also wasn’t immune to the typical coming-of-age compounded by coming-out issues with family and community. In this and other ways, Cody Wagner had a good feel for the language and actions of teenagers, and for the struggles of glbtq teens.
I liked the people here. The MC was not perfect but human, with a good set of friends and teachers; and the others who I was not as keen about still had their issues to deal with as well. And on top of this, I was drawn in with the mystery of the ancient supernatural “enemy� mixed in with your typical teenager’s high school life. Yet, and I thank Wagner for this, there were doses of reality as well, with not everyone being spared pain in the process, and some tough twists to deal with along the way.
All making for a believable and engaging story, worth 4.5 stars IMHO.
[I'm excited to have won this as a Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ First Read â€� so thanks, Cody!]
January 8, 2016
I loved this book! It's a humorous sci-fi-ish/fantasy-ish/not-realistic-ish book about a gay kid who accidentally comes out of the closet and gets sent to a "pray away the gay" camp. Little does he know the danger that awaits him there. The good thing is he has a superpower. He's gay.
Y'all, I freaking loved this book. I won't tell you anymore, lest I give too much away. I just have to say, go support a self-published author and order this book. It's not in any way offensive to religion (he manages to keep religion pretty well out of the book other than the fundamentalist preacher who insists his parents send him away to camp for healing), and it's not a "gay" book. It's just really fun. I can't wait for Book 2!
Y'all, I freaking loved this book. I won't tell you anymore, lest I give too much away. I just have to say, go support a self-published author and order this book. It's not in any way offensive to religion (he manages to keep religion pretty well out of the book other than the fundamentalist preacher who insists his parents send him away to camp for healing), and it's not a "gay" book. It's just really fun. I can't wait for Book 2!
January 31, 2017
Okay, even though this is not a long book, or even remotely approaching densely written, this was a bit of a slog.
Nothing actually seems to happen until about 3/4 of the way through, and the plot was fairly thin. I know it's got a bit of the "first book in a series" thing going on, but so little happened in this that, for me, it didn't do the job of setting up any anticipation for the next book. We didn't find out enough about the supernatural stuff to be interesting, and none of the characters seemed particularly fleshed out. I'll be kind and hope that was a deliberate choice, as the narrator is quite self-centred.
In short, I really wanted to enjoy this more than I did, but it turned into a bit of struggle.
Nothing actually seems to happen until about 3/4 of the way through, and the plot was fairly thin. I know it's got a bit of the "first book in a series" thing going on, but so little happened in this that, for me, it didn't do the job of setting up any anticipation for the next book. We didn't find out enough about the supernatural stuff to be interesting, and none of the characters seemed particularly fleshed out. I'll be kind and hope that was a deliberate choice, as the narrator is quite self-centred.
In short, I really wanted to enjoy this more than I did, but it turned into a bit of struggle.
December 17, 2015
Found this book via social media, took a chance, and loved it. Literally every page had an enjoyable detail or twist, very imaginative and interesting. Nice if you're in a reading rut (which I was). Looking forward to the next book by this author.
June 28, 2018
The book was a very interesting concept, where a gay teen is send to a conversion camp, and instead found a very cool school that embraces their sexuality. Loved it. The story was also very engaging, and I would love to read the rest of the series.
December 28, 2015
This book took me through the entire gamut of emotion. A story about teens trying to understand their sexuality, but done in a playful way with loveable characters. Can't wait for book II.
June 22, 2018
For most gay teens, going to a gay conversion school would be their worst nightmare. But after showing up at Sanctuary Prep, a gay acceptance school disguised when parents are around as a place for students to “pray the gay away�, 15-year-old Blaize Trales must face much worse danger than a bunch of homophobes.
After accidentally coming out to his parents, Blaize is sent to Sanctuary under the guise of being “healed� of his gayness. His roommates are Jimmy, a returning students who covered up the hurt of his lack of friends through compulsive lying, and a fellow new student named Cassie whose strict parents cause her to be extra analytical. He also befriends an older new student named Roze, and the four of them become good friends, and set about their first challenge: bullying. Despite the fact that this is a school created to help students accept themselves, it does not stop groups of “cool� kids from forming, and Jimmy happens to be their primary target. Then, as the first semester draws to a close, and the bullying issue seems to be under control, a much bigger problem rears its head. Unfortunately, a much bigger problem also has Blaize’s friend in her sights, and defeating the seductive calls of the Siren will be much more dangerous than the sneers of a few jocks.
As a queer adult, this book was everything I wished I had had when I was a teen. I was lucky that, as I didn’t come out until I was older, conversion camp was never a possibility for me, but the way my family reacts to me now makes me all too aware that it might have been a possibility, had things gone differently. So, the idea that a school dedicated to “curing� gay teens could turn out to instead encourage students to accept what make them who they are, and learn to stand on their own feet in the face of adversity, is a pleasant fantasy enough. Then, when you add in the mythic elements of a Siren, and the fact that her biggest enemy is a chubby, unpopular, gay kid, it fits perfectly into the sort of books I had read to escape the pain of my own bullying at the character’s age. I loved every moment of it, and hope to find more books like it in the future. It has just enough real elements to make the characters relatable, while providing the sort of escape that the teens who will find it most relatable likely need. Some parts will make you laugh, others cry, and you will find yourself highly invested in the trials and triumphs of Blaize, Jimmy, Cassie, and Roze.
I highly recommend this to all teens, as well as anyone else who likes realistic fantasy. This is a book that should be available in every middle and high school library, so that queer and LGBT+ students can look to it for acceptance while straight students might learn to be more accepting of their peers. Despite all the progress we’ve made in the LGBT+ community, we’re still far from where we need to be to make sure that queerness is one day accepted the way that race or ability is. There are too many people out there like Zimerman’s Zealots, and they don’t have the excuse of a Siren pulling them to the cause. The suicide rate among teens is high enough without the world turning something as wonderful as love and identity against them as well. For that reason, a story like this, full of friendship and adventure and unconventional love should be much more popular than it is, and I can only hope that one day, my children or grandchildren n will live in a world where these types of stories become more commonplace in the world of literature.
After accidentally coming out to his parents, Blaize is sent to Sanctuary under the guise of being “healed� of his gayness. His roommates are Jimmy, a returning students who covered up the hurt of his lack of friends through compulsive lying, and a fellow new student named Cassie whose strict parents cause her to be extra analytical. He also befriends an older new student named Roze, and the four of them become good friends, and set about their first challenge: bullying. Despite the fact that this is a school created to help students accept themselves, it does not stop groups of “cool� kids from forming, and Jimmy happens to be their primary target. Then, as the first semester draws to a close, and the bullying issue seems to be under control, a much bigger problem rears its head. Unfortunately, a much bigger problem also has Blaize’s friend in her sights, and defeating the seductive calls of the Siren will be much more dangerous than the sneers of a few jocks.
As a queer adult, this book was everything I wished I had had when I was a teen. I was lucky that, as I didn’t come out until I was older, conversion camp was never a possibility for me, but the way my family reacts to me now makes me all too aware that it might have been a possibility, had things gone differently. So, the idea that a school dedicated to “curing� gay teens could turn out to instead encourage students to accept what make them who they are, and learn to stand on their own feet in the face of adversity, is a pleasant fantasy enough. Then, when you add in the mythic elements of a Siren, and the fact that her biggest enemy is a chubby, unpopular, gay kid, it fits perfectly into the sort of books I had read to escape the pain of my own bullying at the character’s age. I loved every moment of it, and hope to find more books like it in the future. It has just enough real elements to make the characters relatable, while providing the sort of escape that the teens who will find it most relatable likely need. Some parts will make you laugh, others cry, and you will find yourself highly invested in the trials and triumphs of Blaize, Jimmy, Cassie, and Roze.
I highly recommend this to all teens, as well as anyone else who likes realistic fantasy. This is a book that should be available in every middle and high school library, so that queer and LGBT+ students can look to it for acceptance while straight students might learn to be more accepting of their peers. Despite all the progress we’ve made in the LGBT+ community, we’re still far from where we need to be to make sure that queerness is one day accepted the way that race or ability is. There are too many people out there like Zimerman’s Zealots, and they don’t have the excuse of a Siren pulling them to the cause. The suicide rate among teens is high enough without the world turning something as wonderful as love and identity against them as well. For that reason, a story like this, full of friendship and adventure and unconventional love should be much more popular than it is, and I can only hope that one day, my children or grandchildren n will live in a world where these types of stories become more commonplace in the world of literature.
June 6, 2023
Well the title is a little long winded...
For a self-published title, the editing was executed at an extremely high level, though it could have gotten a better developmental edit - the pacing was terribly slow and the plot points (the heart beats of the story) were spaced out too far apart. We get a lot of mundane boarding school living and not enough story momentum.
I noticed the cover art has now changed for the series... for the better. Maybe it had to do with marketability, or printers, but whatever it is it was a good move. Not only is the cover art more appealing, but my copy had ink splotches on close to fifty pages rendering some words illegible and I had to guess the words in context of the sentence.Ìý
I enjoyed the characters and their development throughout the story. It was just the pacing issues holding this tale back. It does have a Harry Potteresque feel to it and the tone of the novel, with the protagonist mostly unaware of the real story, this serves as an intriguing narration tool.ÌýBlaize was a fun and easy protagonist to follow we can see how his character gets stronger through the adversity he faces but I wanted a clear-cut development arc.
I love the diversity, but feel like it wasn't diverse enough. This novel focused on the gay part of the queer community, with maybe a quick glance at lesbians, but no mention of transgender, non-binary, intersex, asexual... they were all erased. For a book with themes of discrimination against the queer community, it wasn't very inclusive.
The story is simple (and longwinded) and pretty predictable, with exception of one twist at the end which took me by surprise. The story ended so suddenly without much resolution to any plot points; I was left floundering and wandering what element the plot twist actually served. Again, this would have all been resolved in a developmental edit... it’s kind of rude to have the reader go on this long journey with you and not resolve enough of the story to give them a satisfactory end. This is definitely only episode one in a longer story - not a debut novel in a series.Ìý Given the pacing issues Cody is asking a lot of his readers, especially in YA where attention spans are a lot shorter.
Cody has a great writing style and can really get into the head of his protagonist, and can craft interesting characters, and given this is his debut novel, I’m expecting his writing to get better with experience. So I will be continuing on with this series and see how his writing grows as the story unfolds. But I do have to mention that this is one of the top self-published titles I’ve come across. The formatting can still be improved upon, but no spelling or grammatical errors and a very readable narration. But I think I’ll reserve a recommendation until I’m further into the series.
For a self-published title, the editing was executed at an extremely high level, though it could have gotten a better developmental edit - the pacing was terribly slow and the plot points (the heart beats of the story) were spaced out too far apart. We get a lot of mundane boarding school living and not enough story momentum.
I noticed the cover art has now changed for the series... for the better. Maybe it had to do with marketability, or printers, but whatever it is it was a good move. Not only is the cover art more appealing, but my copy had ink splotches on close to fifty pages rendering some words illegible and I had to guess the words in context of the sentence.Ìý
I enjoyed the characters and their development throughout the story. It was just the pacing issues holding this tale back. It does have a Harry Potteresque feel to it and the tone of the novel, with the protagonist mostly unaware of the real story, this serves as an intriguing narration tool.ÌýBlaize was a fun and easy protagonist to follow we can see how his character gets stronger through the adversity he faces but I wanted a clear-cut development arc.
I love the diversity, but feel like it wasn't diverse enough. This novel focused on the gay part of the queer community, with maybe a quick glance at lesbians, but no mention of transgender, non-binary, intersex, asexual... they were all erased. For a book with themes of discrimination against the queer community, it wasn't very inclusive.
The story is simple (and longwinded) and pretty predictable, with exception of one twist at the end which took me by surprise. The story ended so suddenly without much resolution to any plot points; I was left floundering and wandering what element the plot twist actually served. Again, this would have all been resolved in a developmental edit... it’s kind of rude to have the reader go on this long journey with you and not resolve enough of the story to give them a satisfactory end. This is definitely only episode one in a longer story - not a debut novel in a series.Ìý Given the pacing issues Cody is asking a lot of his readers, especially in YA where attention spans are a lot shorter.
Cody has a great writing style and can really get into the head of his protagonist, and can craft interesting characters, and given this is his debut novel, I’m expecting his writing to get better with experience. So I will be continuing on with this series and see how his writing grows as the story unfolds. But I do have to mention that this is one of the top self-published titles I’ve come across. The formatting can still be improved upon, but no spelling or grammatical errors and a very readable narration. But I think I’ll reserve a recommendation until I’m further into the series.
March 23, 2023
I have lots of thoughts!! I’ll start by saying I went in very excited, was disappointed in the beginning, but then it grew on me. It absolutely could have used some more editing/been shortened. 75% of Book One is set up for Books Two & Three. There isn’t *truly* much Book One plot or resolution. This essentially has a lot of world building, but the book takes place in average, present day America with only a touch of…magical realism? Fantasy? Mythology? Anyway. I really like the concept. I liked Blaize’s accidental “coming out�. I was also then very pleasantly surprised it wasn’t going to be *the type of book I thought it was heading towards being* near the beginning. (Early on he gets sent to a gay conversion camp. I then thought it was going to be a wildly depressing and horrible to read story. It wasn’t!!) l liked the suspense, I liked the plot, I liked the ending. Again, it could’ve used some editing. There is a LOT of unnecessary dialogue/setting/mystery build up made it drag on. (There were large amounts of text dedicated to aspects largely irrelevant in the second half. Things like the parents� visits. And Timothy.) Like I said, looooots of build up for the next books. But I do think those characters could’ve just been reintroduced and developed later.) By the end it picked up again, but for a bit there in the middle I had no motivation to continue. I’m actually excited to crack open the second now, though!
June 5, 2023
Plot had a lot of potential, but that's about it - only potential.
The book is constantly full of apologetic statements toward parents who send their kids to conversion therapy. Supposedly great accepting school that is expected to be a safe space, is making excuses for allowing bullying, not only systematically missing extreme cases of mobbing, but also not taking any actions when the identity of bullies is brought to teachers' attention. The actions of bullies are excused in a similar manner to abusive parents. Additionally, there is a problematic housing system and traditions that are designed to give older students the upper hand.
Complete erasure of any identity that's not either gay, lesbian, or straight.
Discussion of the theory of being the Siren was sexist and implied, that woman can be politically influential only by magically manipulating men, especially, if she is not beautiful, in fact, the term "fugly" was used.
December 22, 2018
I must commend Blaize, the 14-year-old narrator of this young-adult novel, for exercising his gift of sass after being outed, when he was suddenly treated like a stranger by family and obliged to enroll in an alternative school espousing "reparative therapy." Without that levity, I might've been discouraged from continuing to read. I was further motivated to see Blaize develop an unexpected circle of friends at the school. (I'm divided whether Cassie or Roze is my favorite character.)
Yet not all was as it seemed at this school. Thus the tale explored the idea of a haven for gay teens to experience camaraderie, not even sparing the drama of social castes and competitive rites. The book's cover implied a supernatural angle -- it's there, but surprisingly subdued. This appealed to me, yet the biggest draw was seeing bonds formed via banter, mentoring, angst over peer acceptance, and even a tragic turn.
I'll confess, I briefly wondered if the school facade was unethical at all toward the oblivious parents, despite those parents' misguided hopes that their children would learn to "pray the gay away." But I only had to recall how real-life summons for morality and holiness, despite all good intentions, have enabled violence and ostracism directed at the LGBT community. Even the teens in this story were moved to consider facing up to a group reminiscent of the Westboro Baptist Church.
Yet not all was as it seemed at this school. Thus the tale explored the idea of a haven for gay teens to experience camaraderie, not even sparing the drama of social castes and competitive rites. The book's cover implied a supernatural angle -- it's there, but surprisingly subdued. This appealed to me, yet the biggest draw was seeing bonds formed via banter, mentoring, angst over peer acceptance, and even a tragic turn.
I'll confess, I briefly wondered if the school facade was unethical at all toward the oblivious parents, despite those parents' misguided hopes that their children would learn to "pray the gay away." But I only had to recall how real-life summons for morality and holiness, despite all good intentions, have enabled violence and ostracism directed at the LGBT community. Even the teens in this story were moved to consider facing up to a group reminiscent of the Westboro Baptist Church.
June 1, 2018
I liked this book.
Was it amazingly crafted with a story that drew me into the pages and got me wrapped up in a world that I never wanted to leave? No.
Was the story fun to read and will I probably read the second book? Yes... maybe.
Overall, this book was OK. It took nearly three quarters of the book for anything exciting to remotely happen, and when it did, it was so small it was kind of glazed over. The ending was shocking mind you, but there are still so many unanswered questions, I felt like I learned next to nothing.
The book was mostly a story of gay teens sent to a reform school, yet the school was all a sham to give them a safe place to grow up. A little extra and over the top, but it was still nice. You got to see the everyday life of these perfectly normal teens and get small glimpses of something bigger going on. But that is all that it was. Small glimpses.
Hopefully the second book has more action. For the love of all that is holy, the title talks about a Siren, to which, you never discover much about. So, if you are looking for a series to start, and like a little light humor and don't mind a little confusing dialogue, then give it a read!
Was it amazingly crafted with a story that drew me into the pages and got me wrapped up in a world that I never wanted to leave? No.
Was the story fun to read and will I probably read the second book? Yes... maybe.
Overall, this book was OK. It took nearly three quarters of the book for anything exciting to remotely happen, and when it did, it was so small it was kind of glazed over. The ending was shocking mind you, but there are still so many unanswered questions, I felt like I learned next to nothing.
The book was mostly a story of gay teens sent to a reform school, yet the school was all a sham to give them a safe place to grow up. A little extra and over the top, but it was still nice. You got to see the everyday life of these perfectly normal teens and get small glimpses of something bigger going on. But that is all that it was. Small glimpses.
Hopefully the second book has more action. For the love of all that is holy, the title talks about a Siren, to which, you never discover much about. So, if you are looking for a series to start, and like a little light humor and don't mind a little confusing dialogue, then give it a read!
June 23, 2018
Not bad, but I think I'd have liked this book more if (a) I was significantly younger and (b) I was more familiar with the issues gay teens encounter. I could say I imagine what it's like, but then I'd be lying. This book is probably magical to some, like Lo's Orchard in Clive Barker's Weaveworld was to me, but that's just a guess. I struggled a bit to get through this book and I can't say I got a 100% payoff for my investment of time, but I'm not sorry I read it.
I got this book as a Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ Giveaway for my new Kindle Paperwhite, don't ya know, in exchange for an honest opinion. I honestly love my Paperwhite, as much as I honestly doubt Amazon.com purposely tried to subvert this book by sending early buyers bibles because "gay" is in the title, as the author insinuates on his blog. A publicity tactic, perhaps? Add some controversy to sell books? We'll probably never know.
I got this book as a Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ Giveaway for my new Kindle Paperwhite, don't ya know, in exchange for an honest opinion. I honestly love my Paperwhite, as much as I honestly doubt Amazon.com purposely tried to subvert this book by sending early buyers bibles because "gay" is in the title, as the author insinuates on his blog. A publicity tactic, perhaps? Add some controversy to sell books? We'll probably never know.
June 6, 2020
"Liars suck because you’re always trying to figure out what’s true and what’s not."
-Blaize.
3.5/5
I wanted to read this book because I read good reviews in some of the hashtags I follow in IG. The truth is that I was not thrilled, up to 75% of the book I was reading it more to know what the mystery was with the siren than because I was aware of the characters... True is I am not a big fan of 'slice of life' stories. I can't say that I loved the kids, they are a little forgettable. However, The thing with the school has its charm, but I cant say it got me at 100%. I will read the second book because I need to know how it ends (it was interesting enough at the end to make me read the second part). I am angry that the impact to continue this story has been because what happened to Jimmy. But well, a little fantasy at the end helps to keep going reading.
(And... I did not collect many memorable quotes)
-Blaize.
3.5/5
I wanted to read this book because I read good reviews in some of the hashtags I follow in IG. The truth is that I was not thrilled, up to 75% of the book I was reading it more to know what the mystery was with the siren than because I was aware of the characters... True is I am not a big fan of 'slice of life' stories. I can't say that I loved the kids, they are a little forgettable. However, The thing with the school has its charm, but I cant say it got me at 100%. I will read the second book because I need to know how it ends (it was interesting enough at the end to make me read the second part). I am angry that the impact to continue this story has been because what happened to Jimmy. But well, a little fantasy at the end helps to keep going reading.
(And... I did not collect many memorable quotes)
May 29, 2019
Blaize Trales (real name) is a gay teen in a small town. Some bizarre events in his personal life stack up and Blaize is sent off to Sanctuary Preparatory Academy - a gay conversation school.
However, life at Sanctuary is far from what the teen expects. Wagner's debut novel is a surprise of storytelling. The debut author has a masterful touch when it comes to driving the narrative of story compellingly.
Not a fan of the run-of-the-mill, coming-of-age, YA book, on top of LGBTQ, I was pleasantly surprised by Wagner's ability to make the YA aspect almost disappear with realistic dialogue, scenarios, and simply human behaviors. With mystery, comedy, friendship, and a healthy dose of modern-day mythology infusion! A Gay Teen's Guide is anything but standard YA. A definite recommended read.
However, life at Sanctuary is far from what the teen expects. Wagner's debut novel is a surprise of storytelling. The debut author has a masterful touch when it comes to driving the narrative of story compellingly.
Not a fan of the run-of-the-mill, coming-of-age, YA book, on top of LGBTQ, I was pleasantly surprised by Wagner's ability to make the YA aspect almost disappear with realistic dialogue, scenarios, and simply human behaviors. With mystery, comedy, friendship, and a healthy dose of modern-day mythology infusion! A Gay Teen's Guide is anything but standard YA. A definite recommended read.
January 30, 2025
I have a lot of thoughts about this book. The main one is that it took way too long for the siren to actually come into play, and I wish that it had been a more central part of the story given that it's literally in the title! Minus the last few chapters, you could've taken the siren out and it would've gone almost exactly the same.
Another thing was the ending. In some ways, it felt like it came out of nowhere, I also thought it was a bit of a bummer to just outright kill his friend when their innocent crushing was just getting off the ground ! I'd been looking forward to that developing and it truly felt like a loss to have that ripped away.
Aside from some general weirdness and small plot things, it was still an enjoyable read for me. I occasionally felt it bordered on being ridiculous, but that was okay
Another thing was the ending. In some ways, it felt like it came out of nowhere, I also thought it was a bit of a bummer to just outright kill his friend when their innocent crushing was just getting off the ground ! I'd been looking forward to that developing and it truly felt like a loss to have that ripped away.
Aside from some general weirdness and small plot things, it was still an enjoyable read for me. I occasionally felt it bordered on being ridiculous, but that was okay
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 13, 2024
Answering the question, "What if Hogwarts was a fake gay conversion camp?", I appreciated that this book did not fall into so many of the eye rolling tropes frequently found in most gay ya novels. But that's not to say it isn't without its faults. Blaize Trales (... yeah.) and his friends get into some wildly unlikely situations and interactions, and the latter chapters of the book stretch belief - especially considering the apparent complete lack of consequences. The title of the book is also completely misleading, to be honest, and the book ultimately just seems to be setup for the sequel.
September 26, 2017
This book, the story and these characters are making me want more.. i Blaized though the book (pun intended)
What ever happens to anybody ... its a amazing read!
At the first few pages i was reading what the book is about i was confused. Read on i would say!!!
The book is great and make you feel things, anger/hate/love/confusion/amazement.
I cant wait for the second book.
Go on writhing Cody, you are amazing!
XXX
What ever happens to anybody ... its a amazing read!
At the first few pages i was reading what the book is about i was confused. Read on i would say!!!
The book is great and make you feel things, anger/hate/love/confusion/amazement.
I cant wait for the second book.
Go on writhing Cody, you are amazing!
XXX
March 1, 2024
"G" - My 2024 Alphabet Challenge
You know what, I really enjoyed this. I love Cody's writing style, it flows so naturally and effortlessly that I struggled to put it down! I'm desperate for more information so can't wait to read the 2nd book, there are so many unanswered questions!
The whole pumpkin chapter was the only bit of "filler" that I thought was a bit odd, but I had a really fun time reading this, thanks Cody!
You know what, I really enjoyed this. I love Cody's writing style, it flows so naturally and effortlessly that I struggled to put it down! I'm desperate for more information so can't wait to read the 2nd book, there are so many unanswered questions!
The whole pumpkin chapter was the only bit of "filler" that I thought was a bit odd, but I had a really fun time reading this, thanks Cody!
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