For the May Queen

by Kate Evans

It's 1981 and 17-year-old Norma Rogers' parents drop her off at the college dorms. Soon, Norma finds herself drunk and nearly naked with three strangers. The strip poker event is the first of many experiences that prompt Norma to question who she is-and who she wants to be. Norma's relationships with an array of characters induce her to grapple with society's messages about women, sex, and freedom. These characters include Jack, her aloof on-again, off-again boyfriend; Goat, her antsy dorm neighbor; Liz Chan, a pot-smoking sorority girl; Benny Moss, a nerdy guy who has a thing for Liz; and Paul Fellows, Benny's roommate, whom Norma calls Chuck because he reminds her of Charlie Brown. Chuck, a witty aficionado of old films, plays a pivotal role in Norma's discoveries about life's possibilities, as does Norma's roommate Stacy-a beautiful, kind, and somewhat mysterious blonde. Many tumultuous events take Norma through an array of troubles, pleasures, and thrills: from drug use and ominous encounters with strangers, to rowdy parties and road trips, to queer coming-out surprises. In the midst of these incidents-which are peppered with 1970's and 1980's pop cultural references-Norma reflects on her desire for freedom (sexual and otherwise). Reinforcing these themes are the intermittent appearances of her middle-class parents and her sister, as well as her best friend from high school whose life in a small town-as she prepares for her upcoming wedding-is poles apart from Norma's. Ultimately Norma comes to see that there are many ways to live and love.

Genres: Fiction, LGBT, Queer, Coming Of Age

309 pages, Paperback

Published September 20, 2008

About the author

Kate is the author of the best-selling memoir duo: WANDERLAND: LIVING THE TRAVELING LIFE and CALL IT WONDER: AN ODYSSEY OF, LOVE, SEX, SPIRIT & TRAVEL, named "Best Memoir" at the Bisexual Book Awards--where Kate was also lauded as "Writer of the Year" by the Bi Writers Association.

Her other books include two novels (FOR THE MAY QUEEN & COMPLEMENTARY COLORS), two poetry collections, and a book about teaching. Her stories, poems and essays have appeared in more than 50 publications. With Mary Janelle Melvin, she co-authored a French Revolution historical romance, REVOLUTIONARY KISS (under the pen-name Mary-Kate Summers).

Recipient of a PhD from the University of Washington and an MFA from San Jose State University--where she is Emeritus Faculty--she has taught writing and literature in California, China, and Japan. As a writing coach and editor, she helps writers unleash and shape their stories. She also leads writing workshops worldwide.

Half the year she lives in Mexico. The other half, she travels.

Reviews

[Nancy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Posted at Shelf Inflicted

It is 1981. Norma Rogers is 18 years old, a college student, and on her own for the first time in her life. As someone who was only a year older than Norma in 1981, I can relate to having too much freedom, too many choices, and not enough guidance. “If it feels good, do it” was definitely the motto of life in the 80’s. Or at least it was for many young people at that time.

Right from the beginning, I was drawn into Norma’s life – the parties, the friendships, the joy, the struggles, and the sadness. Kate Evans has created a cast of unique and vividly portrayed characters that are so easy to connect with emotionally. Each character, from her distant boyfriend, Jack, to her dorm neighbors Goat, Liz, Benny and Chuck, her roommate, Stacy, and her parents and sister, had a significant impact on her life while she was in college and in the years after.

I loved every moment with Norma, her friends and her family. They allowed me to relive the pain and pleasure of my own youth, difficulty with parents, old friendships, ex-lovers, the hangovers, the highs, wanting to fit in, needing to be loved. I enjoyed the 80’s cultural references, the snappy dialog, the twists and the surprises.

A wonderful story!

*Book provided by author in exchange for an honest review.

[Kate · Rating 5 out of 5]

10/27/15: Finished the full first draft of the screenplay!


8/25/15: I'm re-reading my novel because I'm adapting it into a screenplay. Wish me luck! :)

---------------------------------------

Okay, I know my rating's not fair since I wrote this book. But I wrote it out of love for these characters, so I can't give them anything less. If you like edgy, fun-to-read, coming of age type stories, you'll probably dig this.

And I'm thrilled with the new edition's beautiful cover--especially since some reviewers hated the old one!

[Kate]

Okay, I know my rating's not fair since I wrote this book. But I wrote it out of love for these characters, so I can't give them anything less. If you like edgy, fun-to-read, coming of age type stories, you'll probably dig this. Norma's kind of like Holden Caufield with a sex change.

You can read the first chapter here:
http://forthemayqueen.blogspot.com/

For book club questions go here:
http://forthemayqueen.blogspot.com/20...

[Collin Kelley · Rating 5 out of 5]

I had the pleasure of reading "For The May Queen" while Kate was still sending it around to publishers. I loved it...so much so that I agreed to write a blurb for it:

"The 80s were all about drugs, alcohol and casual sex, and Kate Evans deftly conveys the uncertainty of the era as her feisty Norma Rogers leaves a sheltered home life and dives headfirst into a series of hedonistic adventures at college, including falling in love with Chuck, who just doesn't seem to be that in to her. The clever dialogue, unexpected twists and a meticulous sense of time and place evoke the immediacy of memoir. Funny, poignant and ultimately a testament to lasting friendship, For The May Queen is a trip back to the not-so-distant-past without the hangover."

It's really a brilliant book. Keenly observed characters and a true page turner. Oprah, are you listening?

[Cyndi · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really, really enjoyed this book. Having not made it past the local community college, which was more a continuation of high school, I have always wondered what it would've been like to have gone off to school and lived in a dorm. Kate's book really gave me what I had been looking for.

Through reading some of this book, it felt like I was in the room with the characters. Kate has a way of making them all seem so real, I'm sure each of us has had a Stacy or Liz in our lives.

Thank you, Kate for giving me the opportunity to read this book. I will be passing it on to my friends.

[Joy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I started reading For The May Queen disliking the title and cover. That’s an early and easy prejudice to get through. The title made sense after I read the line of the song it had been taken from, referring to lyrics from Stairway to Heaven. I especially didn't like the cover photo. The model didn't look young at all, with dowdy looking clothes she looked about thirty years old, staring at a wilted flower. I would have preferred a photo of a punked up looking rock girl with a stoogie and attitude. Once I got past these minor flaws and prejudices, the book flowed from beginning to end. I finished the book in less than twenty hours.
Very simply written, in first person, the dialogue flows along with the story. I’ve always been curious about what it would have been like to go to college as a teen since I never experienced it. It’s difficult to read Evan’s book For The May Queen and not compare one’s own experiences since that’s what this book is all about; Norma’s early experiences and learning to be on her own while attending college. I never had a childhood or teen years & was forced to be adult beyond my years because of my family situation. I didn’t get to go to college until I was twenty-eight years old. Me going to college was all about “fixing” my life and having a career so I could support my son as a single mom. Naturally the stepping-stones and rituals that Norma focused on made me curious.
Norma defines the ritualistic separation that takes place when we leave home for the first time and how this evolves along with her search of self. Parallel to this young Norma simultaneously seeks her voice as a writer as she searches for her identify. Part of Norma’s learning experience is the richness of people she’s exposed to and drawn to. Naturally drawn to nonconformists Norma recognizes her own hidden depths and how she too is somehow different.
Norma at first only knows herself through how she imagines her friends see her. When she discovers her roommate is gay and realizes the special closeness he had with another mutual male friend is based on this, Norma begins to question her sexuality. She realizes that she loves Chuck because he inspires her to see the world differently. Chuck’s “movie vision view” of the world & his capacity to quote Casablanca and make it fit everyday events make him special. Norma disappoints Chuck after a night of sex & love, by protesting to her unfaithful boyfriend who shows up unannounced that “it meant nothing.” This ends the romance between her & Chuck but after this occurrence Norma begins to explore her inner motivations more.
Kate Evan’s book engrossed me with its sharp wit & humor. I couldn’t help but get involved with her characters. They are similar to the highly artistic creative people we know, each with his own brand of quirky eccentrics. Her characters are real; I could hear their voices.
A very fast reader and entirely engrossing, I highly recommend Ms. Evan’s first novel, For The May Queen. As a former educator I would recommend this book for high school students as well as adults.

[Bev]

Move over Holden Caulfield --- there is finally a female character who is not afraid to tell us what it really is like the moment you leave the safety net of your home and your parents’ inquiring eyes. For the May Queen by Kate Evans is a powerful new debut fiction novel that is destined to secure a place in bibliophile mania, equal to that of Catcher in the Rye. I did something I rarely do and that is fell in love with Norma Jean Rogers, the central character after reading the opening lines. By the end of the first chapter, I was hooked, so hooked, I didn’t put the book down until I was finished.

Norma is a young woman who is off to college and on her own for the first time in her life. She is fearless in her pursuit of discovery of self. Her sense of bravado makes human and believable as she teeters along that fine line between girlhood and womanhood, and between throwing away the last inhibitions when one suddenly decides that ‘I am an adult.’

Within a few hours after her parents leave her with bag and baggage at the dorm, Norma wakes up on the floor with three strangers in her underwear. From there it goes on a wild and fun ride through the growing pains of womanhood, life and friendship.

The first chapter is full of getting to know Norma and her menagerie of friends who are all memorable in their own right. But it doesn’t stop there and we are continually introduced to new characters who breeze in and out of Norma’s and her other friends’ lives.

The novel reads like a fine memoir, is often poignant, often funny, and never dull. Yes, there are sex scenes, drinking, wild parties, and an occasional high, but they are done so tastefully, and so honestly, that even as a parent of teenage girls, I have no qualms about them reading the story because I want them to read what young people face in the real world, and perhaps see that growing up is also about making decisions, right or wrong, good or bad, but they are your decisions and choices to make.

Although the novel is set in the early 1980s, ever decade is a tumultuous era, and even more so, this first decade of this new millennium. I venture to say that throughout history, leaving home has never been more honestly and thought provokingly written about. Taking the steps to achieve adulthood is like riding a roller coaster and. Kate Evans is a writer extraordinaire with an equally amazing storytelling voice. For the May Queen is a must read and a book that you won’t be able to put down.

[AJ Paris · Rating 5 out of 5]

For the May Queen
A Novel by Kate Evans

If you liked Paul Fieg and Judd Apatow’s short-lived but critically acclaimed series Freaks and Geeks, then chances are you will enjoy Kate Evans’s new novel, For the May Queen. Peppered with nostalgic homages to the late seventies and early eighties, this debut novel follows lost but liberated Norma Rogers through her freshman year at Sacramento State. Norma comes from a loving home, not unlike the Brady Bunch’s quirky suburban enclave (sans four siblings and a maid), yet her sense of self is fragile at best.

Fresh from reading her mother’s copy of Fear of Flying, Norma shows up at her freshman dorms ready to put her sexual liberation into practice. She quickly falls into a rabbit hole of recreational drugs and bed-hopping, leaving little time to actually attend classes. At times, I wanted to reach into the pages of Evans’s book and stop Norma from climbing on top of yet another nearly anonymous partner. When Norma finally finds “somebody to love,” (Queen lyric reference intentional), he remains painfully elusive and Norma must confront the question at the center of the novel: If no one loves me, then who am I?

I might have hated Norma if I didn’t identify so much with her college-years angst, teenaged lack of self esteem, misplaced belief in empowerment through sexuality, and her desire to be defined by someone, anyone. But Evans brings Norma’s growing sense of self along nicely, giving the reader the satisfying feeling that Norma just might make it after all, while never giving in to the temptation to give her heroine the happy ending you might expect from a first time novelist. Instead, the happy enough ending Evans gives us satisfies even more.

And though the themes in the book are deceptively dark, Evans keeps the tone of the novel light, weaving in pop culture references that are spot on reminders of times gone by—some we remember fondly, and some that we’d rather forget.

[Robin · Rating 5 out of 5]

I just got this book 2 days ago in the mail and I stayed up almost all night last night finishing it off!!! It's addictive and I don't really know why, maybe it is because the characters are so great and funny, maybe because there's one turn after the other and just have to keep turning the pages to find out whats next. You keep wondering whats going to happen to Norma and you keep feeling like there are some secrets lurking somewhere but you're not sure exactly whats going to pop up.

Then when it does its so great!!! I wish I could say more about the plot but I dont want to give anything away.

Anyway I read the first chapter online and thats why I ordered the book in the first place. It's now up there as one of my all time favorites because it's funny but has a serious sense at the same time. It feels like its telling the truth but in a fun way.

I think all people go through what Norma does. All people move away from home and have alot of things to face and however you choose there are consequences. Even though it takes place in the early 1980s its totally relevant today. The 1980s stuff was fun with all the music and references to new things like answering machines and stuff like that!!!

I cant wait for this writers next book. There are some pages of the next book at the end of this one and it looks like another great one!!!!

[Annie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was hilarious and touching at the same time. I loved the characters. I meant to read just a few chapters, but I couldn't put it down and read the whole thing in two sittings.

It takes place in 1981 in college dorms. That makes for a very fun yet tension-filled setting, especially when all these young people don't have any boundaries about what do with their bodies. It's like Hedonism 101 is their most important class. Yet, it's not an easy class to pass. They have to figure out how to make life work because of, and in spite of, all that freedom.

Too often readers pass up books published by small publishers. Don't pass on this one.

[Jayne · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fun and quirky coming of age tale that takes the reader on a journey through college life in the 1980s.

[Patricia · Rating 5 out of 5]

The setting of For the May Queen by Kate Evans is dorm-life culture in the early 1980s, focusing on drinking, drugs, and sex prevalent in such a context. As a 60-year-old woman who came of age in the late 1960s, I admit to feeling a sense of disturbing recognition as well as powerless disappointment as I read, particularly during the first 2/3rds of the story. And yet Evans presents this as a valid context for a rite of passage without minimizing it as a societal problem.

And she employs a wry symbolism that fleshes out the central theme about personal identity which is particularly evident in the character’s names. For instance, Norma sits at the center of the story, thereby establishing the “norm” which is not exactly normal, and who is also called Norma Jean by Chuck thereby alluding to a subtext about the Marilyn Monroe persona. Chuck, who is really Paul, is renamed by Norma, consistent with his dual identity and her failure to see the real him. Additional images serve to carry the message of this story—bridges, mirrors, and games, along with cultural icons like James Bond and Marilyn Monroe—images that enrich themes such as nonconformity, altered states, friendship, marriage, and even education and the relative value of an instructor’s choices for her students.

Kate Evans has written a book that deftly portrays a slice of life in the 1980s, a time before cell phones and My Space, a crazy world where young adults are suddenly free to experiment and experience. Evans poses the question: What serves to anchor a person who is thrashing through such a rite of passage? By the end of this story, a surprising and encouraging answer is revealed.

[Sydney · Rating 4 out of 5]

Norma is about to embark on the the most intense year of her life... her freshman year of college. She will experience love and hate on levels she has never known existed. Intense friendships unfold as she lives apart from the safety of her parents home for the first time.

Though this book is set in the early 80s, it resonates clearly today. Norma discovers freedom in her freshman year and learns with that freedom, you need a healthy dose of responsibility. There's no one to make sure you go to class or do your homework. No one to tell you not to drink too much or not to take drugs. Not to sleep with everyone you meet because you don't know what else to do. These are all lessons she has to learn, some the hard way.

Norma seemed like such a real character to me. Witnessing her internal struggles didn't make me pity her... it made me want to hold her hand and say "It's just college... there's a whole world out there beyond even this!" At time I did want to yell at her... but Kate Evans does an excellent job of making Norma multi-dimesional.

It took me a few chapters to get into this book, but once I started I couldn't put it down. I love how everything is wrapped up in the final chapter. Not with a neat bow on it and a Hollywood ending, but with hope.

[Chelle Cordero · Rating 5 out of 5]

Having commuted to college while living in my parents' Bronx apartment, I never got to experience dorm life although I didn't miss out on many parties. But I did send both of my kids off to dorms some 30 years later.

Reading Kate Evan's vivid descriptions, i have to admit I cringed several times wondering - and then deciding maybe I'm better off not knowing (for sure).

Kate's writing is so real, you can get totally absorbed in the story. You can experience the carefree freedoms and the heartrending angst. Some of the twists and turns are so unpredictable and always fascinating.

For the May Queen is so much more than a story of growing up or coming of age, it is, in the long run, a very memorable book about friendship and learning about yourself.

I highly recommend this book.

[Kristie · Rating 4 out of 5]

WOW!!! It's been a very long time since I gobbled up a book like this one. I read it in about 8 hours (maybe less). This book is the type that you sit and read and the next thing you know, you're 50 pages in.

The characters in this book are VERY easy to relate to. If you don't know a Chuck, a Norma, a Liz, or a Stacy, you know someone that knows one. From the first word of the first sentence, I was captivated by Norma. Although my dorm experience was very different, I could totally relate. I could feel what Norma felt. I felt her humiliation, her confusion, and her sadness. I found myself reading a red lights (not recommended), cooking dinner, even walking to the bus stop.

Definitely a MUST READ.....

[Bradford · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved the dialog and Kate's precision from beginning to end. Kate Evans' For The May Queen was for me a deep dive back into my college days - a little scary and enlightening 25 years later and fun too. I remembered I had no idea who I was back then. Kate reminded me those feelings are normal and part of the discovery of life. Thank God I'm here to hope my daughter, who is four now, reads the book the summer before starting college. Chapter 21-"Who Are You", brings it all home for me! I wanted to read and reread this chapter slower and slower taking it all in.

[Valerie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thrust into a world of dorm parties and unbridled liscence, Norma must look beneath the surface of others, and thus herself. Is she a high schoolish academic good girl? A college student who parties and gets wasted every night? Or does she have hidden talents beneath her multitude of surfaces? As she asks herself these questions, torn between her atraction to writing and the endless temptations surounding her, she learns to understand and love those around her, and thus, herself. A wonderful book for all those struggling to find their places in the world.

[Holli · Rating 5 out of 5]

Honestly.....this was a REALLY good book. Thank you so much Kate for sending it to me and letting me have this awesome experience. And it truly was an experience. I felt as if I were going back in time to when I was 18 and 19 and god even 20 and all the crazy things my friends and I did. Kate sincerely captures "the college experience" and by doing so also captures how everyone felt at that age. Its a book about life and love and learning. I loved this book....I highly recommend it.

[Jan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Witty and engaging, this debut novel from Kate Evans is a page-turning good read about sex, love and sexuality in a freshman dorm. An awful lot of the action takes place under the influence of drugs and alcohol, to a late-seventies, early-eighties soundtrack. I remember the songs, but where were all the good substances and promiscuity in MY dorm?

[Jana · Rating 4 out of 5]

College-age Norma takes you on a wild romp through the 80s as she searches for her place in a world that is bigger than she ever imagined. Raw. Real. Poignant.

[Crystal · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is Great! I couldn't put the book the down! So entertaining! Must read!

[Ellen Young · Rating 4 out of 5]

A young woman goes off to college and lives it up in the dorm, drinking a lot, having sex with whoever she likes at the moment, falling in love and losing her way academically. And that's not such a bad story! Kate Evans handles this realistic material deftly and honestly. What I most admire is how she lets her characters be true to themselves. The emotion is genuine, and the way the characters interact in this maelstrom of dorm life is very well-drawn. (I remember wanting everything to be INTENSE when I was that age, just like Norma and her friends do.) This is a very readable work too, well-plotted and ably written. A very good read.

[Namid · Rating 5 out of 5]

What an interesting story. This wasn't at all what I expected, but in the best way possible. It is a true coming of age story, and shows us how much we grow and learn as human beings. With descriptions and events beyond compare, this is a BEAUTIFULLY written story. The end is especially touching. A wonderful book!! :)

[Steve Williams · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very fun read, characters were very believable, and I was able to read very fast. For me, shorter is better, having ADHD, it is difficult for me to stay with a task for very long. I also am familiar with setting since my oldest daughter was considering Sac State for her college experience.

[Gary Shapiro · Rating 5 out of 5]

Listen to my great conversation with this author:
http://web.mac.com/garyshapiro

[Lisa Allender · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you survived high-school and college in the 1970's or the 1980's, then you'll get all the references in Kate Evans' sexy romp of a novel.
"For The May Queen"--the title is a line from a famous rock anthem--will surprise you with twists you'll never see coming.
It's a thrill ride with all your ex-boyfriends(or girlfriends), and just when you think you've gotten away with something wicked and fun, you're forced into being accountable. Ms. Evans never telegraphs how you should feel about a character, but you will question each character's motives. You'll develop strong feelings--real, unabashed, love--for every one of the beautiful, damaged, young people in this debut novel.

Please note: Kate Evans is currently at work on her second novel,
"Complementary Colors".

[Jan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was a bit hesitant to read this because I didn't want to remember the early eighties, but once I started reading, I couldn't put it down! Kate Evans perfectly captures the thoughts and feelings of a young woman coming of age during those crazy times of drugs, sex, rock and roll. I'm reliving my misspent youth from the perspective of someone much older and hopefully a little wiser. (full disclosure, I designed the cover)

[Linda Johnson · Rating 4 out of 5]

As an 8o's kid,(I graduated from high school in 1984) I really enjoyed For The May Queen. This is a coming of age novel that took me way back! I always wondered what college dorm life would have been like and if I had missed anything and I think the author paints a pretty accurate picture for the time with the alcohol, drugs and casual sex.

[Christina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting book, well written. I can say my college experience wasnt like this at all, but the questions Norma faces are the questions I think most girls struggle with at that age.
It will be interesting to see what this author does next

[Fenixbird SandS]

Looking forward to reading this book...fantastic reviews by these authors (i just read them on Kate's blog www.beingandwriting.blogspot.com)

Jane Pupek, Martha Engber, Patricia Valdata & Colin Kelley