Cut Both Ways

June 22, 2015
Mesrobian specializes in boys: boys joining the military, boys realizing the costs of hookup culture, and now boys and sexuality. Seventeen-year-old Will is romantically inexperienced, but suddenly he is dating a girl and making out with his best friend. He doesn’t think he is gay, but he likes what he’s doing with Angus. Then again, he also likes what he’s doing with Brandy, and he likes—maybe loves—both of them. Time with them offers a respite from the fact that he leads two lives—one in a fancy suburb with his mother, another with his alcoholic father in Minneapolis. Will never imagines he is bi (an author’s note says the book is, in part, about “bisexual erasure”); he’s more worried that he’s a cheater. Will’s feelings for Angus and Brandy and his sense that he’s more himself when he’s with them come through clearly, and Mesrobian writes about sex—what it feels like, its power to satisfy and confuse—bluntly and effectively. At the end, nothing is settled, but Will has found some peace with that. Ages 14–up. Agent: Michael Bourret, Dystel & Goderich Literary Management.

Starred review from July 15, 2015
A high school senior struggles to understand himself after he falls for Brandy, a sophomore girl, while at the same time he and his friend Angus, who is openly gay, make out one night while stoned and drunk and then are continually drawn back to one another. Will's parents divorced when he was a kid, and his mother's remarriage means he lives part-time at her large McMansion in the suburbs, where he has a stepdad and two half sisters. The rest of his time he's with his dad, who lives in Minneapolis and whose house renovation project veers badly off course as he progressively loses his ability to function due to alcoholism. Will's narrative voice is unadorned, striking exactly the right withdrawn emotional tone for a kid who has spent much of his life playing peacekeeper between his parents. He's tormented about having sex with both Brandy and Angus: not because it makes him unsure about his identity (though this is also true), but because it means he's a cheater-one of the many details carefully sketched in that will allow readers to sympathize with him. Intense, honestly described, and sometimes awkward sexual encounters will ring true for teen readers, and many will identify with the family strife, too. Pitch perfect, raw, and moving. (Fiction. 14-18)

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July 1, 2015

Gr 10 Up-About to embark on his senior year, Will lives a divided life. He is split between his mother's suburban wealth and his father's growing instability, between his first girlfriend and a growing sexual relationship with his gay best friend. With her third novel, Mesrobion once again employs a fearless and honest tone, broaching the issues of sex and relationships with frank and sometimes crass language that rings true to the young male narrator. Her portrayal of bisexuality (though Will never specifically identifies with that word) is thoughtful, and realistic. The secondary characters are well developed, all the way down to Will's oft-absent stepfather. Despite several dramatic events, the book never feels sensationalized, and the respect with which Mesrobian speaks to her teen audience adds weight and validity. VERDICT A great addition for most libraries, and perfect for older teens looking for nuanced realistic fiction.-Amy Diegelman, Vineyard Haven Public Library, MA

Copyright 2015 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Starred review from August 1, 2015
Grades 9-12 *Starred Review* Will is surprised when his best friend, Angus, kisses him one night, but he is more surprised that he likes it. But he also likes Brandy, and she likes him back. Will is not sure what to make of his equally strong feelings for both a boy and a girl. Is he gay? Is he straight? He doesn't land on either one, nor does he ever consider the word bisexual. It's confusing enough dealing with his silently feuding divorced parents, particularly his alcoholic father, who spends more time amassing materials and demolishing things than finishing his protracted home remodeling project. But the blissful haze of two sexual relationships is one hell of an escape, and, for better or worse, Will mostly succeeds in keeping them separate. Will's balancing act of secrets is troubled: his compartmentalization of both his relationships and his identity prevents him from shattering, but it's exhausting keeping those tenuous walls up. In Mesrobian's brazenly honest, nonjudgmental account, however, Will never comes across as willfully cruel. In his sometimes disaffected, vividly sexual, and earnestly emotional first-person narrative, Will tries to sort out his myriad, often contradictory feelings, which don't line up neatly with what he believes his options are. In Will's candid, unapologetic voice, Mesrobian's raw, sympathetic coming-of-age story uncovers the messy, painful, yet vitally important, process of self-discovery. A unique, imperative novel.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2015, American Library Association.)