A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to My Sexual Orientation

Andy Stevenson #1

by Kage Alan

1989: The adventure begins during the summer after his freshman year of college when Andy Stevenson accompanies his grandmother on a six-day trip to California to celebrate her brother’s fiftieth wedding anniversary. Once there, however, life becomes a series of comical faux pas with relatives who can’t remember his name, women who want to charge him $10 to put suntan lotion on their bodies and where a handsome young man kisses him at the anniversary party. It’s that kiss that starts a chain reaction in Andy and forces him to reevaluate what he thinks he knows, what society wants him to believe and why so many people in California are talking about his assets!

Genres: M M Romance, Gay

264 pages, Paperback

First published March 1, 2003

Reviews

[Christy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'll be honest and admit the title of this book is the first thing that drew me in. The second was that it's written by Kage Alan, who I've come to discover has a fabulous sense of humor, and, oh yeah, he can pen a story, too. So I decided I wanted to take this trip with Kage, or, more accurately, with Andy, the main character, and see where he led me. I was looking for laughs, which I found, but I also found a poignancy I hadn't expected and that made the whole book just that much better.

"Let me just get the answers to standard questions out of the way now. I don't molest children. I don't look at guys in the shower. I don't stare at guys' crotches at the gym, and I don't walk into a room and start picking out guys to try and seduce. Ideas like that only add to existing problems and misconceptions about gays."

Andy did what normal boys do. The curiosity they all had, perhaps Andy a little more than most, was acted on in fifth, sixth, seventh, eighth, and ninth grade. After that, the curiosity was no longer innocent, and, even though Andy still thought about it, he became determined to like girls. Not that he had a whole lot of luck with that. So he went off to freshman year in college, still a virgin, and having dated exactly two girls in high school. Andy was starting to realize he wasn't like these other college kids, but he didn't want to be gay, and he wasn't going to be gay. Andy just figured that he'd lose his "curiosity" after he'd actually had sex with a woman.

Please find my full review at Rainbow Book Reviews

[Lori · Rating 4 out of 5]

As soon as I saw the title of this book, I had to read it. This quirky, funny book starts out a little slow but then picks up and has tons of LOL moments. Not a 5 star read for me because there's no sex and the fade to black scene towards the end of the story was disappointing. I still really enjoyed the book and I'm looking forward to reading the sequel.

[A.B. Gayle · Rating 3 out of 5]

There were two books here. One, a 2 star over-the-top forgettable attempt at humor and another (5 star) very touching account of what's it's like dealing with the recognition you're gay.

I must admit I skipped a lot during tales of staying with his grandmother and her brother. The book took a decided turn for the better when he arrived at Jenny's house.

To be fair, perhaps that was because these relatives were more accepting of him as a person.

Perhaps the first bit was needed to show what an asshole he was and how much his world sucked, but that could have been achieved much quicker.

Even if the circumstances weren't factual, I'm sure a lot of the sentiments and attitudes were. The book was worth reading for that aspect alone.

3.5 stars

[MsMiz (Tina) · Rating 4 out of 5]

(Lent to me)

[qx · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5

[Matthew Vandrew · Rating 2 out of 5]

A bunch of unpleasant people are saying unpleasant words and doing unpleasant things, which makes this book a very unpleasant reading. Nothing funny. I gave up. 

[Phil Strobe · Rating 3 out of 5]

I laughed a lot as I read this. After, I thought about the parts which were more challenging than slapstick. This book lingers in my mind.