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Openly Straight

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Openly Straight

By: Bill Konigsberg
Narrated by: Pete Cross
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About this listen

Rafe is a normal teenager from Colorado. He's been out since 8th grade, accepted by his peers & championed by his progressive parents. And while that's important, all Rafe really wants is to be a regular guy. To have his sexuality be a part of who he is, but not the headline, every single time. So when Rafe transfers to an all-boys' boarding school in New England, he decides to keep his sexuality a secret - not so much going back in the closet as starting over with a clean slate. But then he sees a classmate breaking down and realizes his own labels aren't well-concealed. And most of all, he falls in love with Ben...who doesn't even know that love is possible.

©2015 Bill Konigsberg (P)2017 Dreamscape Media, LLC Arts & Entertainment Difficult Situations Family & Relationships Friendship Health, Lifestyle & Relationships LGBTQ+ LGBTQ+ Studies Literature & Fiction Romance

Critic Reviews

"From the first, Pete Cross's narration describes the high spirits of Rafe and his family.... The humor continues outwardly throughout the book, but Cross undercuts it with Rafe's uncomfortable inner feelings.... Cross's delivery reflects how Rafe wrestles with honesty, hides truths in a romantic relationship, and finally faces the painful path to becoming his real self." ( AudioFile)
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Such a beautiful story line and very well written! The narrator also did a great job expressing the characters and story line

I loved it!

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Fun and thoughtful! Rafe is sick of being labeled as “the gay guy” in his small town, so takes the opportunity to pass as “openly straight” when he starts at a private boarding school across the country. When he falls for Ben things start to unravel! I loved the characters, the storyline, and exploration of identity!! Great performance by Pete Cross ❤️

LOVED this!

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My reviews generally extend only so far as star ratings. I choose to extend myself on this review and actually provide an opinion. Excellent....enjoyable.....charming. I didn’t want it to end. Possibly the best narration to words that are so beautifully put together. Thank you both.

I’ll be reading this one again (and again)

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This book really resonated with me. I found the protagonist engaging and allowed me to reflect on my own experiences. Strongly recommended.

Thoughtful

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A great story with an emotional roller coaster plot. An amazing perspective on both sides of why being true to yourself is important.

An awaking

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Masterfully written and beautifully narrated. Encourages the reader to search within before looking for answers outside of oneself.

Heart-warming: a lesson in writing

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I really liked the romance, but Rafe the pov character just... continually makes terrible decisions. And a couple of times it felt like for the sake of the plot the characters were really, beyond stupid about stuff which should be quite obvious.

I'm not sure the heart of the story is really something that needs to be told - yeah, it's easier to pretend not to be gay! Cooool... I'm aware of that already. It was charming, but felt quite poorly thought through, concept and theme-wise

Also some super awkward references to how whacky and out there (and implied; wrong) trans, genderqueer and gender divergent people are.

I'm torn

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In the spirit of reconciliation, Audible acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of country throughout Australia and their connections to land, sea and community. We pay our respect to their elders past and present and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples today.