We're Not Alone

by Rik Isensee

We're Not Alone is a young adult novel that follows Mike and Susie through their adventures coming out in a suburban high school. Susie, a firebrand from the get-go, gets thrown out as President of the Girls' Athletic Association when she comes out as a lesbian. Mike, still unsure about his orientation, develops a crush on Scott, his best friend, who's in love with Melody. When Scott gets jumped by some anti-gay bullies, Mike is forced to take a stand.

Paperback

First published January 1, 1992

Reviews

[Bella · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book reminded me of super well-written fanfiction. It had all the tropes I’ve come to love, fake relationship, friends to lovers, sharing a bed. It was a super cute story and you really felt for the characters. The dialogue was confusing at times, particularly when characters were recounting past conversations. And some of the impactful moments were brushed aside when I wished the author had spent more time there.

[Evan Purcell · Rating 4 out of 5]

Aside from some awkwardly written banter (especially in the front half, before I was able to get into the story's wavelength), this book is awesome. Its central friendship is something I haven't seen before in YA fiction. It's from the 90s, so it touches on some dark issues that were more socially accepted back then, but Isensee chooses to focus on the interesting character dynamics instead of out-and-out wallowing. Things escalate to an almost ridiculous level in the last 40-or-so pages, but the narrator is so likeable and the side characters are so well-drawn that it really works. This is the kind of YA book I wish I'd read when I was a teen.

[Milo · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was published the year i finished high school. Looking at it in 2020, it serves as a great lens into what it was like to be an out teenager in the early 1990s. I would like to believe that it’s a little better now, but i know that it’s really not, and won’t be until every last anti-queer bigot is bludgeoned to death with the tire iron from Dan White’s cop car or the fence post that Mathew Shepherd was murdered on.