Act Well Your Part [Paperback]

Don Sakers (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 1986

The New Boy in Class

At first Keith Graff dislikes his new school, Oak Grove High. He misses his old friends, and despairs of ever fitting in. Then he joins the school's drama club, where he meets the boyishly cute Bran Davenport:

Be honest, fella, he said to himself as he looked out the window at the cloudy October sky. Bran Davenport probably doesn't even like boys, at least not in the way you're thinking of. And if he did, which was a pretty big if, even if he did he probably wouldn't give you a second look. He's a senior, member of the Thespians, star of last year's play, and aide to the drama teacher. You're a newcomer, lower than a fresman...

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In this novel about a gay teenager, Keith's acceptance of his homosexuality is a given. He wants to attract Bran, the one he loves. The plot has possibilities, but is weakened by the ease of Keith's coming of agefrom crush to mutual masturbation and oral sex to coming out before the community at a school dance. Keith's mother understands her son so well that she invites Bran to stay over ("I'd rather that you knew there was some place where you could feel comfortable"). Keith acts just as cool when his mother trots off for a vacation with a man she hardly knows. In this pat treatment, potential conflicts are small: the characters don't experience school and neighborhood bullying or violence; their biggest fear is group ostracism because girls are jealous that Keith gets Bran.
Copyright 1987 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal

Grade 8-12 This is an average, unrealistic teenage romance, except for two explicit bedroom scenes, and for the fact the the lovers are both boys. The main character exhibits the standard feelings of innocent first love. The lively background of a high-school drama club contrasts with the slightly plodding writing style. The book ends with a Winter Dance, where the boys dare to dance close; however, as they have been kissing in the cafeteria at noon every day, their classmates are hardly surprised. There is absolutely no adult interference in the course of true love; their parents all but tuck them into bed together. This is one of the few gay love stories for young people that does not mention the paranoia of being found out. The 16-year-old's mother is understanding and not even slightly upset when her son tells her that he's in love with a senior boy. Their classmates seem bothered only that one of the most popular seniors is no longer available to the girls who worship him. This is so much like a ``Sweet Dreams'' romance that it is startling to read passionate sex scenes near the end of the somewhat too-long narrative. Not as well written as Scoppettone's Happy Endings Are All Alike (Harper, 1978), this might be the groundbreaker for public library YA paperback racks. High schools might have a harder time with it only because of two very graphic sentences describing tender lovemaking. Anne Osborn, Riverside Public Library, Calif.
Copyright 1987 Reed Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 13 and up
  
• Paperback: 120 pages
• Publisher: Alyson Books; 1st edition (November 1986)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0932870791
• ISBN-13: 978-0932870797
• Product Dimensions: 8.1 x 5.1 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,812,818 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Don Sakers was launched the same month as Sputnik One, so it was perhaps inevitable that he should become a science fiction writer. A Navy brat by birth, he spent his childhood in such far-off lands as Japan, Scotland, Hawaii, and California. In California, rather like a latter-day Mowgli, he was raised by dogs.

As a writer and editor, he has explored the thoughts of sapient trees (The Leaves of October, Baen 1988), brought ghosts to life (Carmen Miranda's Ghost is Haunting Space Station Three, Baen 1989), and beaten the "Cold Equations" scenario ("The Cold Solution," Analog 7/91, voted best short story of the year.)

In 2009, Don took up the position of book reviewer for Analog Science Fiction & Fact, where he writes the "Reference Library" column in every issue.

In his day job, Don works for the Anne Arundel County Public Library. His actual job title -- "Library Associate" -- makes it sound like he gives lots of money to the Library, but in fact it's the other way around.

Don lives at Meerkat Meade in suburban Baltimore with his spouse, costumer Thomas Atkinson.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A great example of gay YA fiction, April 1, 2004

By 

F. Mercer "bibliophile" (Phoenix, NY United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Act Well Your Part (Paperback)

I thought this novel was great. Much better than Nancy Garden's very similar "Good Moon Rising." I agree that the high school is unbelievably liberal for the 1980's. However, it was refreshing to read a YA novel featuring a gay protagonist who is not wracked with guilt and who is not punished in the end. I also found the sex scenes to be very realistic without being too explicit.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Starting Over, August 1, 2001

By 

Toby Sanders (New York, NY USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Act Well Your Part (Paperback)

Teen romances are seldom considered great literature. But, they do serve a purpose. They provide characters who echo the everyday questions and insecurities that plague budding relationships. The problems Keith faces are problems faced by many young people. He moves to a new town and enters a new school. He is far away from his best friend. And, he is falling in love with another boy in the theater group. The interesting thing about this book and its sequel, "Lucky in Love," is that it portrays prejudice as a very human thing. The homophobia exhibited in the book arises from the jealousy of the heterosexual characters. This book fills a void felt by many of us by giving back the dignity of romance.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Predictable? Yes, but still a great book., February 1, 2002

By 

Michael Malicoat (Newbury Park, CA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Act Well Your Part (Paperback)

This was the first book I read as a teenager that identified with the feelings I was having. I think it is a great book, perhaps somewhat predictable (in retrospect), but overall it was exactly what I needed.