Russel Middlebrook is convinced he's the only gay kid at Goodkind High School.
Then his online gay chat buddy turns out to be none other than K...
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Dec 21, 2011
Jennifer
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Reviewed by Me for TeensReadToo.com
Russel Middlebrook is pretty sure that he's gay. After all, he's not attracted to girls, and he spends every day after gym class studiously avoiding the other half-naked guys in the locker room. He's never had an actual experience with another guy, though, so maybe the attraction he feels toward them is something he'll outgrow--or maybe not.
While surfing the Internet one night, he finds chat rooms for different towns and cities, where y More...
Russel Middlebrook is pretty sure that he's gay. After all, he's not attracted to girls, and he spends every day after gym class studiously avoiding the other half-naked guys in the locker room. He's never had an actual experience with another guy, though, so maybe the attraction he feels toward them is something he'll outgrow--or maybe not.
While surfing the Internet one night, he finds chat rooms for different towns and cities, where y More...
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Sep 22, 2011
Cory
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Nothing spectacular or groundbreaking here. It's filled with two-dimensional characters and very special lessons. But the MC isn't an asshole and it has a decent ending. It's better than most YA, which isn't saying much.
I'd recommend this for middle school students, but with all the talk about who's having sex, and who isn't having sex, I don't think they'd care. I wouldn't have cared. And the writing is too juvenile for high schoolers despite the profanity. If you're looking More...
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Aug 30, 2007
Punk
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YA. Russel Middlebrook is convinced he's the only gay kid at his high school, but while hanging out online in a gay teen chat room, he discovers there's someone else out there, and soon gay people are popping out all over the place, though not actually out. This is a solidly mediocre contestant in the queer young adult genre. It's not an overly idealized world where gays and lesbians are accepted without question ( David Levithan, I'm looking at you). These kids have problems and aren't yet comf
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Oct 13, 2008
Eric
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Substantially better than Totally Joe. Geography Club follows the life of several teens at a medium/large high school who discover that they're not the only gay kids in school. Rather than tempting fate and public outing they start a gay kids club under the most unappealing club title they could possibly think of: The Geography Club. Obviously one thing leads to another, and some people hook up, lie to their friends, fake being straight, do terrible things to other kids to fit in, and rise an
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Dec 17, 2009
A.
rated it: 
This one was a little thing, and a little preachy -- I suppose that I should season all my YA reviews with "I am not the target audience", but for this one and for its sequel even more than most of my YA reviews. I enjoyed it -- I found Russel an engaging character and there were parts of this book when I really felt for him, but sometimes the message Hartinger was trying to get across just pounding me in the face instead of gently tapping my shoulder.
Not a bad read, but t More...
Not a bad read, but t More...
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May 27, 2011
Sarah
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Before reading this, I'd skimmed over some reviews (I think on Amazon) and they were mediocre, sort of in the middle. I can see why, there are some plot holes, but overall, it's a cute book that deals with some very real issues. The idea is that our hero, Russel, is gay and hasn't told anyone -- not his friends, family or anyone. He looks at stuff on the web and suffers through the tortures of PE, but keeps his secret safe. Until one day he meets someone in a chat room and ends up agreeing to me
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Feb 20, 2009
Ronda
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Russel Middlebrook is an average high school sophomore. He doesn’t stand out in sports or in specific social groups. He’s not unpopular—he has friends, but he feels alone. Yes, he’s an average high school student, but he has a secret--he is gay, and he’s pretty sure he’s the only gay student at his high school.
"That night in my bedroom, I logged on to the Net. I said I’d never actually been naked with a guy, but it’s possible that once or twice I might’ve gone to a gay cha More...
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Jan 26, 2012
Jenni
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Russel is sure he's the only gay kid in his school. Then he finds another person through an online chat room. Then he discovers two more. Then another. Soon there are enough LGBT teens that they don't feel alone anymore, and they want to be able to meet regularly on school campus, but they don't want to advertise their orientations, so they start a geography club. They figure no one will want to join a geography club. Until someone else does.
I appreciated the discussion of bullyi More...
I appreciated the discussion of bullyi More...
Dec 17, 2011
Christina (Reading Thru The Night)
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Quick Summary
Russell is gay. At least he thinks he is. He hasn't actually kissed a boy yet. But he does like to look at guys. And go to teen gay chat rooms. Russell feels pretty alone in his small town high school of about 800 kids. Which was why it was such a big deal when he finds another boy from his town and his high school in the chat room. And it becomes an even bigger deal when he meets this boy and it's THE popular baseball player, Kevin.
After confiding in his best fr More...
Russell is gay. At least he thinks he is. He hasn't actually kissed a boy yet. But he does like to look at guys. And go to teen gay chat rooms. Russell feels pretty alone in his small town high school of about 800 kids. Which was why it was such a big deal when he finds another boy from his town and his high school in the chat room. And it becomes an even bigger deal when he meets this boy and it's THE popular baseball player, Kevin.
After confiding in his best fr More...
Sep 10, 2011
Lookie here! A rantish thing I'd written a while ago on this book...before reading it /:(
I actually don't remember reading the book and have no idea what's going on here, but I'll post it anyway.
Why is it that love of musicals and fashion equal a gay man? I didn't have a major probelm with Geography Club until this happened. Well, besides Russel continuing to go out on double dates with Trish, even though he and Kevin had become boyfriends at that point. He confesses that he More...
I actually don't remember reading the book and have no idea what's going on here, but I'll post it anyway.
Why is it that love of musicals and fashion equal a gay man? I didn't have a major probelm with Geography Club until this happened. Well, besides Russel continuing to go out on double dates with Trish, even though he and Kevin had become boyfriends at that point. He confesses that he More...
Aug 22, 2011
This is yet another of those Young Adult novels I was a little scared to read; in this case, for how shallow it could sound, it was also the cover that worried me, I had a “bad” feeling. And again I was wrong. Sure, Geography Club is not really about the romance, even if there is a teen romance in it, it’s more about the growth of all the characters, but it’s not a dramatic story, on the contrary, it has even a somewhat light and happy mood, like the reader is able to see that everything will be
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Jun 27, 2011
Steven
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Mar 03, 2011
Caroline
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I really liked this book. It opened my mind to things about homosexuality that I didn't think about before. The main character is gay, and needs to hide it from everyone because he's afraid of his social place in highschool. He goes into a gay-teen chat room for support, and there finds the most surprising thing ever- someone in his small school is gay too. They meet up, find other people who are gay, bi, transgender, lesbian, etc., and start a club called "geography club". They think
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Dec 19, 2010
Molly
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Russel Middlebrook is alone. He's the only gay student at Goodkind High School. Except he isn't. When Russel takes a risk and decides to reveal his secret to someone, he discovers a handful of others like himself; lonely and desperate for someone to talk to about their lives. But how do a bunch of kids from wildly different social scenes get together without it looking suspicious? They start an after school club of course! And how do they keep everyone else from discovering their secret?
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Oct 24, 2010
Lucy
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I love queer fiction, but I have trouble finding books that I consider really good. Many address the issues, but don’t have the writing skill to back them up. However, most of the queer YA books I’ve read have overcome this, and Geography Club, by Brent Hartiger, is among them.
Being a teenager is never easy. For the characters in Geography Club, however, life is made even harder by this simple truth: they’re club really has nothing to do with geography, it’s just their front for a ga More...
Being a teenager is never easy. For the characters in Geography Club, however, life is made even harder by this simple truth: they’re club really has nothing to do with geography, it’s just their front for a ga More...
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Jul 25, 2010
Barky
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Jul 13, 2010
Sonya
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The Geography Club: Brent Hartinger
Date Finished: October 2009
Snapshot: Russell, a boy in high school, is secretly gay, but soon he finds other gay teens at his high school, including Kevin, a popular jock. This group forms the Geography Club because they crave a space that is their own; where they can discuss the issues they are going through in an oftentimes homophobic society. The individuals in this group sometimes struggle with doing the right thing and accepting themselves.
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Date Finished: October 2009
Snapshot: Russell, a boy in high school, is secretly gay, but soon he finds other gay teens at his high school, including Kevin, a popular jock. This group forms the Geography Club because they crave a space that is their own; where they can discuss the issues they are going through in an oftentimes homophobic society. The individuals in this group sometimes struggle with doing the right thing and accepting themselves.
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Apr 20, 2010
Kassa
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Geography Club is a young adult book that doesn’t feature a gay utopia but instead depicts a realistic high school with students that aren’t especially noble or inspiring. These are the types of teenagers that exist in every high school, struggling to get through the minefield of social acceptance and rejection with the added pressure of being different. There is no preaching about accepting differences but the story ends with a note of hope and the idea that high school may be horrible but you’
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Mar 25, 2011
Rebekah
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Russel believes he is the only gay student at his small-town high school until he gets online one night and meets GayTeen, a fellow student. Russel is stunned when he meets GayTeen only to find out that he is one of the most popular jocks in the school … and he has a crush on Russel! When Russel finally confesses his sexuality to his best friend, Min, she reveals that she is bisexual.
The gang decides to meet for support — pulling a couple of other gay students into the fold. In order More...
The gang decides to meet for support — pulling a couple of other gay students into the fold. In order More...
Mar 31, 2011
Annie
rated it:
This is a perfectly executed book about high school. It's nothing terribly innovative on the surface. It begins with Russel, surfing around in gay teen chat rooms and stumbling accidentally on another student from his school--who just happens to end up being the hottest guy on the baseball team. The gossip is just too much for Russel to handle, so he tells his best friend--even though it means outing himself--and ends up finding out that she's bisexual. And the Geography Club is formed: essentia
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Sep 14, 2009
Brooke
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Russel Middlebrook lives in a small town, in high school, and gay--his big secret. One night, out of desperation and loneliness he decides to meet--in person--someone he met in a gay chat room who is apparently from his high school. He is surprised by it being one of the popular jocks, Kevin, and they end up talking awkwardly at first, and then about things and feelings they have never been able to express before--not even to their best friends. His excitement over the event gives Russel the gut
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Oct 16, 2009
XMC
rated it:
This book should be banned. They shouldn't be read by kids. I don't really like this book because it is mostly about this school with students who are gay and liz. Since their schoolmates hate people who are gay, these students/characters include an Asian started a club which is geography club. Geography club is just a shell for GAY CLUB (these two words has a G as the first letter) I don't want to read it again, this book is a book that talks about gay students at school and lying to teachers t
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Jan 19, 2012
Jessica
rated it:
This book was really underwhelming for me. While I realize that this type of situation could happen in any school and perhaps a teen would feel comforted by this, the story wasn’t engaging or exciting enough. The main character was fairly well developed and likeable but that’s where my praises end. I actually didn’t want to pick the book back up after setting it down.
I also thought the writing was subpar. Hartinger was almost patronizing to the reader and I feel like his writing More...
I also thought the writing was subpar. Hartinger was almost patronizing to the reader and I feel like his writing More...
May 19, 2010
Scott
rated it: 
The book Geography Club is about a gay boy that finds another gay person online. This person happened to be in his school. This boy made fun of him during and after P.E class, which is the physical education class. They met each other outside at night, where no one would see them. Soon they found other friends that were gay in his school too. After getting tot he end of the book, he has learned that it doesn't matter who makes fun of you, its just the matter of what kind of friends you have and
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Jan 30, 2012
Alvin
rated it:
This is a very interesting book which describes a boy that wasn't afraid to be himself. He knows that he's left out in his school and only has two friends. His two friends is always by his side because they were close. He knew very well that he was gay and he didn't fit in. Well he was very afraid to tell his friend that he is gay.
He went to the internet to find more people who were gay. Soon he discovered that he wasn't the only gay kid in his school. They meet with each other and fel More...
He went to the internet to find more people who were gay. Soon he discovered that he wasn't the only gay kid in his school. They meet with each other and fel More...
Sep 30, 2011
Beth
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Oct 15, 2011
Hoong
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Now this is the type of LGBT YA that I am looking for to add to my list of approved books to recommend middle and high school students at international schools in Asia. Even if their parents inspect the contents, it's just as tone-down as the "Twilight" Trilogy which is read by Asian teens (males and females). I have two sequels, Order of the Poison Oak and Split Screen, that I am waiting to read as well.
First, storywise, the ending is unnatural, making the story appears like a More...
First, storywise, the ending is unnatural, making the story appears like a More...
Jul 07, 2011
Johnp
rated it:
I found this on Goodread's GLBT booklist and it was well worth it.
Russel thinks he's the only gay kid in his high-school. A chance exchange in a gay chat room brings him face to face with one of the 'popular kids'. As more students open up, they try to find a way to meet, but not draw attention to themselves. They come up with the idea of "The Geography Club", something so boring, nobody would join! Things go well for a while, but this is high school! Events spiral ou More...
Russel thinks he's the only gay kid in his high-school. A chance exchange in a gay chat room brings him face to face with one of the 'popular kids'. As more students open up, they try to find a way to meet, but not draw attention to themselves. They come up with the idea of "The Geography Club", something so boring, nobody would join! Things go well for a while, but this is high school! Events spiral ou More...
Jan 29, 2011
Tancredi
rated it:
"Sia come sia, mi avvicinai a lui e lo baciai. Mi ritrovai dentro il territorio sicuro delle sue braccia, ma era come essere abbracciati dalle stelle, come essere una cosa sola con il cielo. Eravamo puri e trasparenti e immensi come l'universo stesso."
Altro, ennesimo romanzo di formazione gay. Superiore alla media, però. Mi aspettavo il solito ripresentarsi di cliché e luoghi comuni, ma mi ha sorpreso piacevolmente. Certo: qualche cliché di fondo rimane, la scrittura è semplice, pensat
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Sep 25, 2009
Robin
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Russel is convinced he is the only gay student in his high school. Seeking friendship and a community where he can find acceptance he joins an online group, and is amazed that there is a member from his high school. A meeting is set and to his surprise, the other gay boy is one of the most popular jocks in the high school.
Together they make contact with a few other gay students and form The Geography Club, a "club that's so boring nobody in their right mind would ever join in." T More...
Together they make contact with a few other gay students and form The Geography Club, a "club that's so boring nobody in their right mind would ever join in." T More...
