Trevor

July 30, 2012
Lecesne (Virgin Territory) updates his Oscar-winning short film, Trevor (itself developed from his one-man stage show), turning it into a novella. It’s the story of 13-year-old Trevor, a boy who stages a re-enactment of Jacques-Louis David’s La Mort de Marat in his bathtub and plans to dress up as his idol, Lady Gaga, for Halloween. (In the Trevor film, the teenager was a diehard Diana Ross fan.) While Trevor isn’t ready to declare himself gay, he doesn’t want anyone else doing so on his behalf, either (“Some of us prefer to remain a mystery—even to ourselves”). Trevor’s interests (Lady Gaga, theater, his baseball-playing buddy Pinky) make him a target, however, culminating in the word “faggot” being scrawled on his locker and a subsequent suicide attempt. Given the story’s long history, it’s no surprise that Lecesne nails Trevor’s personality and voice, a combination of self-assuredness, sharp humor, and enthusiasm. The author also contributes pencil drawings that are as affecting as the prose; the gentleness of his shading echoes Trevor’s softness, which the world is more than ready to harden. Ages 11–15. Agent: Bill Clegg, William Morris Endeavor.

July 15, 2012
Trevor, after which LGBT helpline the Trevor Project is named, began its life as a theater piece, was sold as a short film in 1997, and here is adapted to a contemporary setting in novella form. Thirteen-year-old Trevor narrates in a voice that is initially exuberant. He wants more attention from his parents and seeks it by theatrically pretending to be dead. He loves Lady Gaga and is surprised when his best friend Zac derisively suggests he shelve his Gaga Halloween costume in favor of something "less gay." Zac ultimately shuns Trevor and so does the new friend Trevor finds after Zac. Finally, after a bullying incident at school, Trevor attempts suicide (leaving a suicide note that requests that "Born This Way" be played at his funeral). Trevor's voice is engaging, but the novella is short enough that both the change in his character and the resolution happen jarringly quickly. The slightness of the novella is reinforced by pencil drawings that add warmth but give the impression of having been quickly sketched. Teen fiction about gay boys in middle-class, suburban homes struggling with their sexuality is common enough now that this volume is no longer groundbreaking. Instead, it is simply a compassionate but slight portrait of a likable young person whose unique, impassioned spirit is dampened by bullying and homophobia. (Fiction. 12 & up)

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May 1, 2013

Gr 6-9- Trevor, a successful play and film in the early '80s, spawned the Trevor Project, an LGBT help line for young people struggling with their sexual identity. This is the updated book version, told in Trevor's voice, which is engaging, funny, and appealing. Trevor is an outgoing, quirky 13-year-old, an only child who drives his busy parents a little nuts. In the opening chapter, he is lying on the lawn, seemingly with a knife in his back, trying to get the attention of his father, who is cutting the grass around him. He is a Lady Gaga fan and plans to dress up as her for Halloween. However, his friends start to draw some conclusions and avoid him. Subsequently, he is forced into a humiliating counseling session with his parents' priest about sexuality and then bullied at school. The culmination of this angst and misery results in a suicide attempt. Homosexuality as a theme in teen literature was not as common (even prolific) as it is now, so this novella is not as memorable as it would have been 30 years ago. Because the story is so brief, there is little buildup to the point where Trevor makes the decision to take his own life. His suicide attempt seems rather abrupt and detracts from the impact it could have made on readers. The book is relatively solid in its development of a unique character, more so than as a commentary on homophobia. Pencil sketches add an engaging component, but the story lacks depth.-Corrina Austin, Locke's Public School, St. Thomas, Ontario, Canada

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