Furthest from the Gate

by Ann Roberts

Kate Mitchell notices girls in first grade, and despite the messages of the straight world, Kate's rebellious nature forces her not to comply. She finds herself in many memorable mishaps - she ruins a wedding, takes a girl to the middle school dance, and falls in love with her best friend.

While growing up gay isn't easy for anyone, it's especially difficult for Kate, whose mother has a future in politics. Having a lesbian for a daughter may jeopardize Barbara Mitchell's chances at winning a legislative seat, but the antics of Barbara's brother, Kate's uncle, may collapse the whole family!

Furthest from the Gate is a humorous chronicle of a woman's coming of age, her complicated relationship with her mother, and the responsibilities to family that last a lifetime.

Genres: Fiction

215 pages, Paperback

First published February 1, 2007

About the author

Ann Roberts is the author of twenty books that span the romance, mystery and general fiction genres. A Goldie winner and a Lammy finalist, Ann was awarded the Alice B. Medal for her body of work. She loves to hear from readers, so she hopes you'll give her some feedback.

Librarian note: Multiple authors with the same name in the Goodreads database; this author is entered with two (2) spaces.

Reviews

[Bett · Rating 5 out of 5]

This novel is very funny, very touching, and I highly recommend it to everyone. A coming of age story that will move and entertain, with crisp, well-crafted writing.

[Joshua · Rating 4 out of 5]

Furthest From the Gate is, I suspect, semi autobiographical, which sometimes colors Kate Mitchell's narrative with a familiarity that brings out a lot of what was the almost ambient feeling of coming of age in the 70s.

Kate's experiences growing up are framed between opposites: her immediate family, who are a mixture of stability and tradition while at the same time being loving and supportive and her uncle and grandmother, who approach life with the fun and irresponsibility of ne'er-do-wells who are nonetheless her confidant -- the superego and id to Kate's ego

Roberts does a great job playing the characters of the novel off each other and uses humor and insight to paint a picture of a girl discovering herself in a time and place where her identity could be allowed to grow. Or to wither.