Customer Reviews

Totally Joe

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

In Totally Joe, we are presented with the main character Joe (sometimes JoDan) Bunch's alphabiography--the story of his life from A to Z, complete with chapters that end with a Life Lesson to share with others. I must say, I like the idea of this writing assignment--it's simple enough, and structured and methodical in ways that satisfyingly feed my anal retentiveness. It brings an order to the book, alphabetical, sometime chronological, and always moving along.

At the heart of this alphabiography assignment is the task to be self-reflexive. (Now what self-respecting feminist isn't into being self-reflexive?) However, despite Totally Joe being presented as a confidential, journal-type text strictly between Joe and his teacher, Mr. Daly, we know as readers that we are to match Joe's self-reflexivity with our own. (Isn't all reading about this?)

In any case, I thoroughly enjoyed the book, and have been quite disappointed to see reviews from School Library Journal and Booklist that critique it for its idealism and treats its optimism as a liability instead of an asset.

What ever happened to hope? to dreams? (Or, for to letting fiction be fiction?)

I believe in the power of imagination to bring about change. Utopia should not be a dirty six letter word.

Is everything in Totally Joe completely believable? Hardly. But if it were, wouldn't that be something?

Totally Joe by James Howe follows the life of the 12-going-on-13 year old narrator Joe Bunch, and the situations within his life in the form of an alphabiography assigned by his English teacher Mr. Daly. Each chapter begins with and is structured around a letter, and each ends with a "life lesson" that Joe has learned along the way. However the book is remarkable not just for its unique and creative format, but for breaking new ground with Joe as a 12 year old gay kid. Joe is not a character questioning his sexuality; he firmly knows he is gay. However he has to navigate this, along with issues of gender, sexism, masculinity, femininity, double standards, and oppression in his middle school setting. Howe manages to deal with complex issues normally reserved for older YA or adult literature such as same-sex dating (in particular, dating someone who is closeted), GSAs, and coming out to family at this young age without ever loosing cultural authenticity. The book offers numerous insights on teenage popularity and the cutthroat war zone mentality that accompanies it, and is written in extremely contemporary language that makes the protagonist (Joe) believable and real.

The book is extremely diverse, and includes various individuals that challenge social norms, like Addie's vegetarian parents or Brian's widowed father or Skeezie's single mother. It also shows individuals like Aunt Pam who is implied to be a victim of some form of domestic abuse. The book doesn't wrap itself up in preachy diatribes on these topics, but instead weaves these elements into the average daily life of Joe Bunch.

Some critics have said that Joe's liberal family is too much of a fantasy, and to some extent that may be true. It would be rare to find a family where the grandfather is so accepting that he gives a 13 year old a little pride bumper sticker, however it is not impossible for families like this to exist now, or to inspire the straight kids that read this book to make their families that accepting in the future.

"Sometimes we live no particular way but our own."
--Robert Hunter/Jerry Garcia, "Eyes of the World"

Joe Bunch, The Early Years:

"My mom says that I played wedding for about a year and that I kept asking everybody if they would marry me. Even Jeff. (That was the only time anyone can remember Jeff threatening to clobber me on a regular basis.) I had my Lainy doll marry my Ken doll. I also had her marry some of my Barbies. And G.I. Joe. (I hated that the soldier doll had my name. I mean, please. I didn't play with him much. He was another Christmas present from my clueless grandparents. One time when they were visiting, my grandpa asked me if G.I. Joe had been in any wars lately. I said, 'No, but he and Ken got married last week.' Every Christmas since then, my grandparents have sent me a check.)"

"A dangerous book!" (I can just hear it being thundered from certain pulpits and radio talk shows.) "Boy dolls marrying boy dolls! Obscene! Pornographic!"

As some of you already know, Alabama state representative Gerald Allen, who is reported to have had at least five meetings with President Bush, introduced state legislation earlier this year that would ban public funding for any books with gay characters or content to protect children from "the homosexual agenda."

(No child left behind unless they're gay, right?)

For those books already in the state's public and university libraries, Allen suggests that people "dig a big hole and dump them in and bury them."

"But ain't that America, for you and me."
--John Mellencamp, "Pink Houses"

You may also have a tough time locating a copy of TOTALLY JOE in Oklahoma. According to an American Library Association press release issued earlier today:

"The Oklahoma House passed 81-3 a nonbinding resolution May 9 asking public libraries 'to confine homosexually themed books and other age-inappropriate material to areas exclusively for adult access and distribution.' The resolution explains that because 'children need guidance and protection by adults to ensure their maturation is timely' parents should be 'free from interference from the distribution of inappropriate publicly cataloged materials.'

"HR 1039 was introduced by Rep. Sally Kern (R-Oklahoma City), who released a statement after the resolution?s passage that affirmed lawmakers are 'not looking to ban any books' but merely acknowledging that 'there are some issues little children aren't emotionally equipped to tackle, and many parents believe the issue of sexual preference is one of them.' "

(Certain unenlightened library systems in Oklahoma are already scurrying to get these books back in the closet where they belong.)

"E.T. does not have a fabulous name and is majorly ugly, but ever since the first time I saw him (I was six), I couldn't get him out of my mind. I began thinking I was from some other planet and wishing I could go home, just like E.T. I would even look up at the sky at night and try to pick out which planet was mine. I had a name for it--Wisteria.
"I think that's really the name of a flower or a perfume or something, but I liked the sound of it. I never told anybody, not Bobby or my aunt Pam or anybody. Wisteria was just for me.
"I never pictured Wisteria very clearly in my mind. I didn't know what the houses looked like or the trees or people or anything. When I imagined myself living there, it wasn't what I saw that mattered. It was what I felt. I felt at home."

"Their eyes are all asking
Are you in, or are you out,
And I think, oh man,
What is this about"
--Ani DiFranco, "In or Out"

If TOTALLY JOE was a story about Joe and Colleen instead of Joe and Colin, then it would be automatically added to school library collections serving fifth, sixth, and maybe seventh graders. The language, tone, and plot are that innocent. But because this is the story of Joe coming out and trying to navigate shark-infested hallways and school boards while being who he is, you can count on the book immediately making various hit lists referenced by "concerned" parents, preachers, and politicians.

"But that's no fair because then all the kids who don't know who they are can't read those books and find out who they are."
--Response of an eighth-grade student to her teacher (Shari, my wife) reading an article aloud today about the aforementioned "situation" in Oklahoma.

TOTALLY JOE is a very sweet, very funny, very enlightening companion book to James Howe's THE MISFITS. Having now been part of Shari's teaching THE MISFITS for four years, instigating a No-Name Calling Week based on that book, and having written and produced a school play also based on THE MISFITS, these characters have thoroughly become part of me.

I didn't discover Cynthia Voigt's seven-book Tillerman cycle until after she'd already written the entire set, but I can imagine the long-awaited excitement of rejoining the characters in a new book in that series after coming to love Dicey, her family, and her friends. That's what TOTALLY JOE did for me. And, as Voigt did with many of the Tillerman books, TOTALLY JOE partially overlaps the events that we viewed from Bobby's perspective in THE MISFITS, and then moves the story forward beyond those events.

"There is a road, no simple highway
Between the dawn and the dark of night
And if you go no one may follow
That path is for your steps alone."
--Robert Hunter/Jerry Garcia, "Ripple"

Following Joe Bunch's path through seventh grade is sheer joy. TOTALLY JOE is a totally ground-breaking book about the life and times of a funny, introspective, and gay middle school student.

When I first saw this book, it definitely seemed like it was worth the read. It turned out to be correct. If you have any questions on whether this book is worth reading, then I would say don't bother thinking, just go out and buy it. A good book by James Howe, I would rate it as a B.

This book is about a boy named Joe who goes to middle school. Many times he is teased and made fun of for being in a minority group. Specifically, he is gay. The book encompasses many of his struggles through facing a not so pleasant bully of the name Kevin. In the book he got through a lot of things with the help of three of his best friends. One of his most notable friends, Addie, decided to start a Gay-Straight Alliance in a school. The principal refused though, worrying about homophobic responses from parents. One of the things the book highlights is to fight for what you believe in, and that's exactly what Joe and Addie did in this book. This book would be a great read for young children, as it will help them understand being who you are doesn't always have to be a bad thing.

On the reverse side, the book isn't completely realistic. Joe's family is overly accepting, as well are his classmates, which isn't something you would easily see today. The average family member wouldn't go out and buy presents for a child like Joe, and be completely fine with it in a matter of minutes. The writing also suffers lack of praise. It's nothing special, and doesn't use language to the full potential.

Either way in the end, the book is fairly simple, but a great read. If you're someone looking for a book that that is on the brighter side of things, where good triumphs over for evil, and creates a mood of where a family can go on a picnic together, this would be the book for you. If you are a person who likes to read more realistically, then I would recommend finding another book.

This was not James Howe's life; but it may be the life he wishes he had. Totally Joe is about a boy with an incredibly accepting group of friends, a family that loves him unconditionally, and an aunt who help him come out in his own good time.

The book is a delight; a blast, a visit to a slightly different planet where being queer isn't easy, but it isn't dangerous and the hardest part is figuring out how to find your way -- pretty much like any other adolescent.

Well written as usual, and a nice sequel to the Misfits, but so far from reality (at least the reality most of us grew up with) that it can almost be filed under Fantasy and Science Fiction.

Still, I very much liked it, and recommend it to anyone who enjoyed the Misfits.

This is a totally fantastic book about a youth coming to terms with himself. When Joe Bunch, a 13 year old middle school student, is asked to write an alphabiography for his class, he comes clean about his life and introduces the reader to an inside look of adolescent homosexuality. The thing that made me enjoy the book was that it seemed very authentic in its writing. The author did a near-flawless job of fabricating the world from Joe's perspective, as well as crafting a charismatic, likable character. It definitely seems like any young adult learning about their sexuality would enjoy this novel as it seems very honest and is written in a way that is neither glamorous or gritty, simply honest.
My only complaint, and the only reason it didn't get 5 stars, is because it seemed a little hard to get into. immediately after opening the book the reader is greeted with an interesting style of writing (the alphabiography setup), but the beginning itself is not as strong as the rest of the book is. Give it a few pages, and I promise this book will please.

Have you ever been picked on? Do you know someone who has been picked on because of their sexuality or appearance? If you do than Totally Joe is the perfect book for you. The book, Totally Joe, written by James Howe, is about a boy, Joe, who has to write an alpha biography (an alpha biography is like an autobiography where all stories start with a letter from the alphabet and go from A to Z. Each letter is a story and belief) for his class. His teacher assigned it as an assignment that should take the whole year. He goes to West Torrance Middle School. Here he goes through many challenges and events. Joe is not your average Joe. He is homosexual. Throughout this book you will hear all his beliefs and stories he has to tell about that tough challenging year in seventh grade. This is a sequel to the book, The Misfits, by James Howe. You might cry or laugh, but whatever you do you will enjoy this and hopefully learn some valuable lessons. I would rate the book five stars. It is vey enjoyable and very real. The lesson and story is great. It is a great book. It is realistic fiction. I give it a 4 star.
Personally I learned a lot. I think it sends a good message to kids. James Howe also does a good job in making the book sound like a gay twelve year old would write it personally. The author wrote the book really well. The plot is very good. It is really funny and at the same time sends a good lesson. I enjoyed this book. I got a good lesson from it too. Now I really know how to put myself in others shoes, and especially the shoes of different people. I learned to be more empathetic too. It is really funny and sad, but mostly funny. GO GET IT AND READ IT TWICE!!

-EL

Totally Joe picks up where The Misfits left off. This time Joe is the narrator instead of Bobby, and the story movies more quickly when Joe's telling it. I also felt like this book was more realistic than the last--the plot development in the Colin storyline is believable, albeit frustrating. Colin is inconsistent--and astonishingly human.
As Joe tells us about his life through the alphabiography assignment he has to write for English class, we learn about him. In some ways, he's stereotypical--the pink-flamingo presence in his bedroom is a sign of his flamboyance. In other ways, he's very much his own person. You have to love some of the unexpected little gems of humor he throws in--like "Jimmy Lemon walked around all day looking like he was sucking on his last name."
This reading flew by and left me wondering if there are going to be more books in the series.

This book was on my son's reading list for 7th grade, so I read through the beginning to see what it was about. While I expected a book about a young man faced with the challenges of his sexuality and his subsequent experiences. I was disappointed to find pages filled with over the top stereotypes and frankly bigoted representations. Instead of handling the subject matter in a respectful way, it paints stereotypes and then assigns values to those stereotypes. One would assume from the book that all male Christians with American flags are homophobic and racist bigots. Of course we have to assume that all gay boys unsure of their sexuality paint their fingernails and hair while parading around in flamboyant costumes. I find the presentation of the subject matter rather troubling for most 12 and 13 year olds. Surely we can do better.

this book picks up where its predecessor, the misfits, leaves off. it is original, well written, and witty, which is why despite what i leave below it holds a space on my bookshelf. Totally Joe centers on a gay twelve year old who is busy dealing with an inconsistent boyfriend, a boy who calls him a fag, his aunt pam leaving, and his orientation. its faults: 1) an unsatisfactory, unrealistic, everybody's happy ending. so not high school. 2) the stereotypical christian family not liking him and getting booted out. 3) his friends-Untouchables-get boyfriends and girlfriends. if you are like that, you spend time reading Star Trek, not exchanging saliva, especially not with a popular person.