Switch

by Douglas Davey

Sheldon Bates wants to share his story -- the story of what it was like when he was seventeen. Sheldon was an ordinary high school student until he started noticing something changing about himself. It was then that Sheldon started feeling the same way about boys that he did about girls. It was at seventeen that Sheldon desperately tried to figure out the truth and accept the fact of his bisexuality. And trying to find someone to talk to brought its own set of complications especially when he found himself at the center of a scandal that he was ill-equipped to handle. But he also discovered he was not alone and that he would survive his seventeenth year."

Genres: Young Adult, Canada, LGBT

252 pages, Paperback

First published November 15, 2014

Reviews

[Wren · Rating 5 out of 5]

This review can also be found at http://fortheloveofbooksreviews.blogs...

Things change for Sheldon on the day that he finds himself undeniably attracted to another guy. While he's definitely attracted to his girlfriend, Jenny, he can't ignore what he's been feeling and struggling with, and he fears that he might be gay. After some research, he discovers the word bisexual, and decides that it fits him much better than either gay or straight.

When he decides to come out, things don't exactly go as planned. Instead of the calm acceptance he expected, his girlfriend freaks out, he becomes distanced from his friends and his peers start to bully and threaten him. He's afraid for his well being, and even for his life. When he finds a group of classmates who are similar to him, he doesn't feel so alone anymore. But will things work out for him?

I don't even know how to describe how much I loved this book. I got super excited to find a book featuring a bisexual person, a bisexual boy at that, because bisexuals, and in my opinion especially bisexual guys, are often underrepresented in fiction. Not only is he bi, but the author actually explicitly uses the word bisexual! I was super happy to find a book that didn't dance around with the words 'gay' and 'straight' and surpass bi altogether, as many books I've read often do.

Anyhow, aside from my excitement over representation and all that, the story itself was amazing. It seems like an ordinary story, a contemporary young adult novel describing coming out, bullying, and finding a community. But to me, it wasn't. This book discussed the actual things that LGBTQ people deal with, sometimes on a regular basis, and it did so honestly and with a unique and likeable voice. It dealt with the emotional turmoil that Sheldon, the main character, was feeling, and included themes of self harm and biphobia, which were both heartbreaking and breathtaking in their portrayals. I love how the author wasn't afraid to include biphobia from other members of the LGBTQ community, which is so often glazed over, and that while Sheldon dealt with self harm, it wasn't over-dramatized or exaggerated, but incredibly realistic. I mean, I actually cried. And I was in public too! I think that sums up how emotional this book was for me, personally.

Something that really stuck with me was the idea that anyone could be like Sheldon - struggling with who they are, afraid of what their future holds, dealing with rejection. The book also included footnotes on many pages, with Sheldon as an older adult giving commentary on his life situation after coming out. That also added to this idea of anyone possibly dealing with what Sheldon dealt with, because it was kind of like a reminder that there are older LGBTQ people who have lived through a much less tolerant time. For example, the author says, in the interview at the end of the book, that this was set in 1988. While it seems like only a short time since then, lots has changed, and to have a look at what things were like back then was eye-opening, and I appreciated having a historical setting.

Unfortunately there were a few negative things, such as some typos, but nothing major. I was happy to see pansexuality mentioned, however the footnote defining it made it seem like pansexuals are attracted to absolutely everyone, which I'm guessing was not the author's intention, but rather a strange wording or misinterpretation of the wording itself. The majority of my thoughts on this book, however, are incredibly positive, as you can see.

I most definitely recommend this! If you're interested in LGBTQ narratives that take place in the past, this would be a great pick. For those looking for books about bisexuals, coming out, and bullying, this is the perfect book.

[Camille Y · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this book in the library when searching for stuff to read, and at my local library they have rainbow stickers on the spines of the LGBTQ+ books. I am an avid reader of queer books, so this caught my eye. I myself am bisexual and this is possibly the most accurate I have seen myself represented although I am not a cis guy. His journey of self-acceptance is not poisoned with the stereotypes usually perpetuated about bisexual people, and he actually feels confident using that label instead of calling himself gay or straight for certain reasons. Shel is a very genuine character and his cast of characters in the 80's version of a GSA club were very believable as people as well. I really like his girlfriend's story arc, and I think her reaction to him coming out is similar to experiences of bisexual people even now, in 2022. I enjoyed the footnotes from older Sheldon and how he used them to foreshadow things that would be mentioned later in the book, to keep you wanting to see what would happen next. This was just a random book I took off the shelf because it was gay, and I was not disappointed!

[Shawn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Quite by accident, Sheldon discovers he's bi, in high school in the late '80s/early '90s. In an act of cruelness, he is outed to the school in a time when homophobia was everywhere and bisexuality was completely misunderstood.

A touching and compelling must read for LGBTQ+ kids and allies alike. It has the real life tragedies associated with being gay in this time period (authorities looked the other way at bullying and abuse), but it also has a lovely feeling and message of hope.

A novel presented as a memoir written shortly after the events with the older Sheldon leaving footnotes--mostly explanations of outdated pop culture references and snide comments on how naive he was then. This really is a unique format and reading experience. I had to keep reminding myself this was fiction and not an autobiography.

[Mel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyed this quick read, flows very smoothly and I kept reading to finish because I wanted to know how things turned out. This story is about a young man (17) who is questioning his sexuality, whether he is straight, gay or bisexual...it's his journey through high school and kids who are cruel and unaccepting. He learns who he is as a person, who accepts him, who doesn't. The people who are truly there for him and love him for who he is inside and not judgemental. It tugs your heart strings and I wanted to know this character as a person because he was so realistic and could be any person today who is struggling. We all have our choices and watching him grow through the story was inspiring. I would like to read other books by this author based on this one. I won this book in a goodreads giveaway thank you.

[Amy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great novel written like an autobiography about a young man who has just discovered he is bisexual. This is written as occurring in the 1980s which is about when I was in high school and many of the references really resonated with me. I came away feeling like I knew Sheldon (the main charzcter) and could relate to him. Very well written

I received this book as part of a good reads giveaway but the opinions expressed are solely my own.

[Janet Barclay · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was an enjoyable read. It answered some of the questions I had about bisexuality but didn't want to ask anyone out of fear of being intrusive or appearing ignorant. It is clear that the author is very familiar with the subject, and I'm sure it would be a great read for teens who are coming to terms with their own sexuality and to heighten diversity awareness in others. The characters were believable and likeable and I really cared what happened to them.

[Jennifer G · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a quick read, well written, and covering an interesting topic (a young man's struggle with his bisexuality) I'd definitely recommend this book if the topic interests you.

[Jaya · Rating 5 out of 5]

I LOVED THIS BOOK SO MUCH. My proper review will be up soon because it is huge. But I am going to say this much. You need to read this book it is incredible and the representation is incredible.

[Laura · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is for much younger readers than myself. It is sort of Degrassi - with the focus on one young man's struggle with coming out as bisexual. It was an accurate portrait of the relationships and struggles that young people face in school and brought me back to that time. I really enjoyed the story.
Nonetheless, while I get what the writer was trying to do with the footnotes - time shifting thoughts between then and now and providing other information… honestly, I hated them. They were distracting* and the book is about 1/6 footnotes**, crazy amounts***. For me, the footnotes turned an interesting book for younger readers, into something else****.
About a quarter of the way in, I stopped reading the footnotes because I found them so annoying. Thus while the book is finished for me, I will never know exactly what the writer had set out to tell us.
The thing is that now I have two different ratings for the book. The story itself I would rate a 4 or maybe even a 4.5. I would really have enjoyed the non footnote part of the book when I was young. I think as much as I enjoyed SE Hinton's: The Outsiders, because for me it was great to read about young people who, like me, struggled as a youth. On the other hand the footnotes were so annoying, I could not read them so this part of the book I would give a 0 and since it made up a good section of the book, I have to give this book a lower rating than what I think it deserves.



*and the book is about 1/6 footnotes
**I am not exaggerating.
***These footnotes are a bit like a split personality disorder.
****See what I mean?

[Billy · Rating 4 out of 5]

There are a lot of books I read that I give 4 stars for whatever reason, but I honestly feel like they deserve more of a 3.5; Switch deserves a 4.5 or higher. Not a lot goes into my rating system. It's generally based on the writing style, the plot, characters/character development, and lasting emotions. Switch had a really unique writing style (the footnotes), a nice little captivating plot, and the characters were amazingly written. However, I feel as if I won't feel the emotions of this book for a long time to come. Although to be fair, I read this on the bus, so perhaps I would have felt more if I wasn't in public.

Either way, this book was very touching, and Shel was so realistic. I don't think my review is really doing him justice. He is probably one of the most realistic characters I've read thus far. Also props to this book for being about bisexuality. I know there are books about bisexuality out there, but (for me at least) they're kind of hard to find.

So yeah, in conclusion, really liked this book but I felt as if parts that would have made me very emotional did not, but Shel was a super realistic character, and I'm glad to finally have found a good book about bisexuality that doesn't fall into the hands of so many stereotypes/tropes.

[Stephanie]

Switch by Douglas Davey is a bildungsroman. It explores the struggle of a bisexual young man coming to terms with his feelings and with prejudice from bullies. Being bisexual is confusing for him and his friends, with everyone questioning how he really felt about his girlfriend.

The narration is great, and makes it feel like Sheldon is a real person. The footnotes are funny and informative, but I’m not sure teens will enjoy them as much as I do.

This is a book that could be helpful to a teen who is questioning their sexuality. It explores different opinions and misconceptions about bisexuality that they may face. You don’t have to be gay to enjoy the novel, but sexual orientation is the main focus so it will probably appeal the most to those who can relate or have friends they are trying to understand.

There are no explicit sex scenes in this novel, it’s more about the identity struggle than the actual sexuality.

[Ivy Courtney · Rating 4 out of 5]

A novel about a character coming to terms and discovering what it means to be bisexual. The novel touches on a number of problems that happen to people being open about their sexuailty, especially during the time period when the novel is set, which is appx the 90s.

The novel is different from other LGBTQ novels that I have recently read which was quiet refreshing and really the first one that I have found on a bisexual.

[Sheila Heuvel-Collins · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think this book was too short to do justice to the complications of identifying oneself as bisexual. It might be useful for someone whose friend or sibling has just come out as bisexual, but it doesn't strike me as something that would be useful to someone who was wrestling with the matter themselves.

I did like the footnotes, though. The narration is good in that the adult narrator gives weight to the authenticity of the adolescent writing.

[Heather]

Switch is a really good coming of age story about a high school boy, and his peers, coming to terms with his sexuality in the 1980s when being anything but straight was highly feared or frowned upon. It's an easy read, really interesting, and a great story about daring to be different.

[Amy]

Reviewed for School Library Journal

[Franklin · Rating 2 out of 5]

It was ok.

[Susan Walker · Rating 4 out of 5]

The story of a young man's discovery that he is bisexual. This is an emotional and honest story.

[Josie]

I know the author set out to subvert the narrative but it didn't work for me.

[chloe · Rating 3 out of 5]

Let me just say that I LOVE footnotes. That is all.