Counter Play

by Anne Snyder

Pressure from his teammates, girl friend, and family makes it difficult for Brad Stevens to remain friends with Alex, an avowed homosexual

Genres: Fiction, Gay, LGBT, Gay Fiction

Mass Market Paperback

First published August 1, 1981

About the author

Anne Snyder was a prize-winning author of young-adult fiction whose novels confronted alcoholism, homelessness, sexuality and other real-life dilemmas

She was born in Boston and grew up in the blue-collar Jewish neighborhoods of Detroit. She attended high school in Detroit and later put herself through two years of college.

In 1949, after marrying and starting a family, she moved to Los Angeles, where she began her writing career. She wrote and directed plays for a Westchester theater group called Kentwood Players and for the City of Hope. She also studied creative writing at Los Angeles Valley College.

During the 1970s, she taught creative writing at Valley College and at Pierce College and Cal State Northridge.

Snyder also worked in television. She researched and wrote questions for the "Hollywood Squares" game show and contributed concepts and scripts for "General Hospital" and "The Lucille Ball Show."

Reviews

[Jess · Rating 4 out of 5]

I can't fault this book for having it's heart in the right place (and believe me, I was expecting much less). If it wasn't obvious from the title, "The Truth about Alex" charts Alex's coming out and his subsequent difficulties (friends, family--the usual). However, instead of dealing with this subject matter head on, Snyder frames her story through Alex's straight friend Brad and his reaction to Alex's sexuality. On the one hand, this move is risky; Snyder provides a privileged lens through which to view our marginalized (now doubly so) protagonist. On the other hand, Snyder decides to make Brad peculiarly accepting and supportive from the get go. Though wishful thinking, this sentimental touch gave the novel enough affect to keep me engaged, tender--the sort of affect I'm willing to grant novels that explore this subject matter.

[Sunflower · Rating 4 out of 5]

Will never forget this book. Heartbreaking. You can see the after school special on youtube. Saw it 20 or so years ago and still remember how it made me feel that bittersweet sadness for Alex and the strength of their friendship made an impact.

[Michael · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reading this again after reading it in high school, it seems so foreign. I do not remember things like that in high school. It is an honest book about friendship and trust and the lengths one will go for a friendship.

[Sam · Rating 3 out of 5]

Early 80's YA novel about two best friends dealing with one of them coming out. Alex and Brad have been friends since childhood and compete together on the high school football team. When an incident forces Alex to confront his sexuality Brad is both bewildered and feels betrayed. Refreshingly Brad comes around pretty quickly and the bulk of the story concerns him figuring out how to support Alex even though he may not fully understand the situation. A dated book for sure but it's still a noble attempt to tell the story of a young gay person and those who love him from a time when that subject was not often seen in mainstream publishing.