The Order of the Poison Oak [Paperback]

Brent Hartinger (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 31, 2006

Russel Middlebrook needs to get away. It's tough being sixteen and out at your high school. So being a summer camp counselor sounds like the perfect solution -- but Russel has no idea how crazy this summer will be. Rowdy ten-year-old burn survivors, Indian legends, moonlit skinny dipping, and passionate summer romance are just the beginning . . . and then there's the new secret society, the Order of the Poison Oak.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 8 Up–Sixteen-year-old Russel Middlebrook hopes to escape his identity as the token gay guy at school by spending the summer as a counselor in a camp for burn victims. At first he finds that controlling eight hyperactive, 10-year-old hellions is grueling, but once he charms them with a retelling of a fable based on Native American legend in which a multicolored crow is burnt black by fire, he has no trouble taming them. And with their cooperation and enthusiasm, he creates the Order of the Poison Oak, a special club dedicated to outcasts of all types. With its titillating cover, high dramatics, and steamy romance triangles, Hartinger's novel will definitely score big with teens hankering for a sequel to Geography Club (HarperCollins, 2003). But even with improved characterizations and fast pacing, it's not enough to cloak the author's less-than-subtle attempt at equating burn-scar victims with victims of homophobic bigotry and prejudice. Unfortunately, this well-intended yet domineering metaphor smothers many of the novel's better elements, and ultimately will render more groans than shouts of triumph from its readers.–Hillias J. Martin, New York Public Library
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Library Binding edition.

From Booklist

Gr. 7-10. In this sequel to Geography Club (2003), 16-year-old Russel, now openly gay and tired of being the freak at school, tries to escape as a counselor in a rural summer camp with his two best friends. The camp kids are 10-year-old burn survivors, scarred and disfigured, and Russel identifies with them. They also have fun together, once he stops seeing them as "all nervous and noble." But Russel fights with his friends, especially after discovering that he and bisexual Min are attracted to the same gorgeous counselor guy--who tries to have unprotected sex with each of them. There's too much metaphor and message, including the stories Russel tells the kids about raging fires, hidden beauty, and developing toughness. What readers will like best is the honest, tender, funny, first-person narrative that brings close what it's like to have a crush and hate a friend. In one unforgettable scene, some teenagers call the scarred kids freaks, and to his lasting shame, Russel says nothing. Hazel Rochman
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 14 and up
  
• Paperback: 240 pages
• Publisher: HarperTeen (January 31, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0060567325
• ISBN-13: 978-0060567323
• Product Dimensions: 7.1 x 5 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (38 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,256,415 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

I am Brent Hartinger, and I live to write.

For the last twenty years, I have made my living writing just about everything that involves words.

I've been writing books since college, but I didn't sell any of them until the summer of 2001. Since then, I've sold a whole bunch of them--with many more in the works.

I like to write for all ages, but I particularly like writing for and about teenagers. I think it's because I identify so strongly with them (whenever I hear an adult complain about a teenager, I almost always take the side of the kid, even without hearing his or her version of the story!).

For the record, I try hard to write books that people *like* to read. (The most frequent comment I get from readers is that my books are "page-turners," which makes me very happy, because that is exactly what I want them to be!) My biggest complaint with books I hate is that they don't get to the point (or, worse, they don't *have* a point!).

My second great love is the theatre. My plays have been performed at dozens of theaters across the country. And I was recently asked to adapt Geography Club into a stage play, which was first presented (very successfully!) in Seattle in April 2004. I've also written a play version of my thriller Grand & Humble. (If you're involved with a theater and want a copy of either script, contact me at [e-mail].)

I also have several screenplays under option, and there is a feature film version of Geography Club in the works.

And if that's not enough, I've written over five hundred published articles, essays, short stories, newspaper columns, cartoons, and even a few greeting cards!

I also sometimes teach writing, in the MFA program in Writing for Children and Young Adults at Vermont College and elsewhere.

I live in Seattle, Washington, with my partner since 1992, Michael Jensen. Michael is also a writer, the author of two terrific gay westerns, Frontiers, and its sequel, Firelands. Together, we also helped found a very successful entertainment website called AfterElton.com (but we don't work there anymore).

I answer all emails (eventually), so if you have a question or a comment, or if you're interested in having me speak to your school or group, contact me brenthartinger.com.

Or if you want to send me something by mail, or if you'd like to request a signed bookplate, you can reach me here:

Brent Hartinger
PO Box 30542
Seattle WA 98113-0542

My "Official" Biography

BRENT HARTINGER is the author of a number of novels for children and teenagers, including Geography Club (HarperCollins, 2003); two sequels to Geography Club called The Order of the Poison Oak (HarperCollins, 2005) and Double Feature: Attack of the Soul-Sucking Brain Zombies/Bride of the Soul-Sucking Brain Zombies (HarperCollins, 2007); The Last Chance Texaco (HarperCollins, 2004); Grand & Humble (HarperCollins, January 2006); Project Sweet Life (HarperCollins, winter 2009); and Shadow Walkers (Flux, 2011).

Mr. Hartinger's many writing honors include being named the winner of the Lambda Book Award, the Scandiuzzi Children's Book Award, a GLAAD Media Award, the National Best Book Award, and a Book Sense Pick (four times).

Also a playwright and screenwriter, Mr. Hartinger's ten plays have been produced in dozens of theaters nationwide (twice in New York); his screenplays have won many awards, including a 2009 Writers Network Fellowship and the $5000 Fort Lauderdale Film Festival Screenwriting in the Sun Award. He has several scripts under option and in the process of studio or network development, including a film version of his novel, Geography Club.

Mr. Hartinger lives in Seattle with another novelist, Michael Jensen, his partner since 1992. He has counseled dozens of teenagers, both as co-facilitator of Oasis, a 200-member gay teen support organization he helped found, and as a counselor at a group home for young people.

Mr. Hartinger is a co-founder of Authors Supporting Intellectual Freedom (or AS IF!), an anti-censorship group, and speaks frequently at schools, bookstores, conferences, churches, and civic groups on the subjects of censorship, writing, and social tolerance. He sometimes teaches creative writing, most recently at Vermont College in the MFA program in Writing for Children and Young Adults.

Oh, and there's lots more information about me at my website. Check it out! www.brenthartinger.com

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Book For All Teens, November 10, 2005

By 

starchick - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Order of the Poison Oak (Hardcover)

Brent Hartinger is funny and tender and real. Although this book (and his others) feature a gay teen, ALL teents and adults who like to read young adult books should read him. No matter your sexual prefernce, you will appreciate his messages of acceptance and understanding and his great writing.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The best gay themed book...ever, March 28, 2005

By 

Eric Danforth (New Yorkm NY) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Order of the Poison Oak (Hardcover)

I am a huge fan of Geography Club, the previous book by Brent Hartinger involving gay teen Russell, so when I heard there was going to be a sequel I was really worried(especially since it had the title Order of The Poison Oak, sorry Brent sounded a lil corny), however as I read my copy which I purchased from amazon.com wink wink, I soon realized it was even better than Geography Club. The characters and events just draw you in, and the part when Russell finally has someone look at him in the way that Peppermint Patty looked at the red haired girl, brought tears to my eyes. But this book, even if you are not gay, you will relate to how hard it is growing up and you will be smiling when you finish the book.

P.S. To Brent: Thanks for not including Kevin in this book!

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Mesmerizing and edgy look at life at a Summer Camp, March 29, 2005

By 

Condiment Grrl (Oakland, CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Order of the Poison Oak (Hardcover)

I loved "The Geography Club," so I had trepidations when I eagerly snatched up the sequel. But they were quickly short-lived as I quickly got involved in the machinations of Russel, Min and Gunnar at a summer camp.

This sequel is a rarity in that the main character actually grows in a new direction from the previous book. Usually, the character just seems to go through the exact same journey. But we see Russel grapple with the whys and hows of expanding his romantic horizons and himself into the outside world from the confines of high school. His relationship with a caddish counselor is very compelling as is Gunnar's journey towards FINALLY getting a girlfriend.

It's a real story well-told. Fast, funny and touching.