Switch

by Douglas Davey

Red Deer Press

978-0-88995-524-0

252 pp.

Ages 15+

2014

Back in 1988, when Sheldon Bates was seventeen, a confusing encounter during swimming practice sets him asking big questions about his sexuality. Now, through his personal notes from the time, footnoted with his current thoughts, Sheldon records that tumultuous year of discovery, fear, discomfiture, bullying, and understanding in Switch.

Though dating Jenny, to whom he is wildly attracted, Sheldon conducts a little experiment and some research, hoping to clarify for himself what he is feeling. His wish, "Please, please, please let me not be gay..." (pg. 22), suggests his ensuing stress and incomprehension, not surprising in a time when discussions of sexual orientation were verboten and information limited to a dictionary and a thesaurus. And, if he can't understand it, how will Jenny, best friend Dan or older brother Bill react? Sadly, not as he expects, and his personal issue becomes fodder for school gossip and verbal and physical abuse.

I ate. I slept. I went to class. I watched TV. I looked like I was awake but in fact I was sleepwalking through life with no clue how to wake up or get out. After a while, the terrible flow of days became a gray smear. (pg. 79)

Two things change everything. First, Sheldon is invited to join several other students at lunch in Room 115. There in Mr. Aiden's classroom, Sheldon feels safe. He can access a cupboard of relevant informational books and pamphlets. He can also choose to interact with a handful of students grappling with their own sexuality. Secondly, his English teacher, Mrs. Piedmont, assigns her students speeches, and Sheldon thinks about focusing on what he's going through as a possible topic. That decision will bring Sheldon both tragedy and deliverance.

I, for one, would never want to return to my high school years. Even without the aggravation of questioning your sexual orientation, teens have so much with which they must deal: puberty, body image, independence, career choices, responsibility. And not every teen has resources available to help them navigate those complicated treks. In the late 1980s, with no internet, with the AIDS crisis, and the secrecy virtually mandated by societal discrimination, the topic of bisexuality was still taboo, and kids like Sheldon would inevitably be left floundering for support. How he was able to survive, emotionally and physically, is both remarkable and gratifying. Douglas Davey, who was able to evoke that same trepidation and confusion in M in the Abstract (Red Deer Press, 2013), keeps readers repeatedly wondering how Sheldon will address his latest dilemma, or whether he will expose himself to more abuse by speaking publicly of his bisexuality, or when he will ask for the support of the school's administration or his parents. It is hard to believe the youthful Douglas Davey could present the 1980s of Sheldon's story so completely but that grey haze of being exposed to public scrutiny and discrimination is subtly exposed as a sign of the times and hopefully one that efforts have been made to rewrite.

Switch should belong in the 2015 version of Mr. Aiden's cupboard or, better yet, in high school libraries where everyone and anyone, regardless of sexual orientation, could share in the emotional turmoil of Sheldon Bates. Douglas Davey is providing us with the insight that, with greater awareness, could help us become more empathetic to those struggling with issues of sexual orientation. Let's hope we all accept Switch as that tool for learning.

Way to Go

by Tom Ryan
Orca Book Publishers
978-1-459800779 (pb)
978-1-459800793  (ebook)
224 pp.
Ages 12+
April, 2012

Discovering who you are is a common theme of YA books (sadly as well as of adult fiction and even non-fiction.) In that sense, Way to Go could be seen as a coming-of-age novel in which Danny, 17, searches for his niche amongst his friends, Jay and Kierce, and for his future, in Cape Breton or not.  But trying to identify your sexual orientation can be awkward when you have a friend like Kierce who has hundreds of rules about getting the girl.  It’s especially problematic if you’re unsure whether you want to get the girl or be with a guy instead.  Still thinking about what he wants and who he is has Danny feeling pressured by his Dad who is adamant that Danny go to university.  Working in the Alberta oil fields after the bottling plant closed in Deep Cove, Dad is determined that Danny's employment options will not be limited as his own were.

So starts the summer of 1984, the summer before Danny’s final year in high school.  Resolved that he will not waste it, his mother arranges for him to work for a former classmate, Denise, who has returned to Deep Cove to convert the popular but rundown Burger Shack into an upscale restaurant named The Sandbar.

Focused on his job at helping The Sandbar get up and running, Dan puts aside his worries and finds himself enjoying the camaraderie of his new acquaintances: Denise, who left Deep Cove right after high school; JP, the amazing chef from Montreal; Lisa Walsh who has come from New York City to spend the summer with her aunt; and classmate Maisie who is hired when more wait staff is needed.   

It's the beautiful, sophisticated Lisa that has Dan enamoured and thinking about his feelings for girls. Though only 17, Lisa seems so worldly, coming from New York City with a trove of life experiences Danny cannot even imagine. It is as they become good friends, driving around after work in her old car Bessie and listening to her amazingly diverse collection of mixed tapes, that Danny first considers checking out his feelings for girls on Lisa.  Though his best friend, Jay, who has issues of his own to worry about (failing his exams and jeopardizing his school year), doesn't press Dan about girls,  Kierce is relentless about hooking Danny up with one girl or another and his careless comments about gay people put Danny in an even more precarious quandary.

Meanwhile, with the Sandbar successfully up and running, Dan's skills as a dishwasher are being severely challenged.  Fortunately Denise and JP are very astute, recognizing Dan's fascination with watching JP cook could better suit him for the role of sous chef.  Here Danny finds his forté, prepping for JP and learning about cooking from a master, and considering a culinary institute after high school.

For Dan and Lisa, as well as The Sandbar, Dan's Dad, Jay and Kierce, the Way to Go seems to be forward.  Taking the first step is the difficult one but it's the only Way to Go.  Whether it is sharing hidden truths or the anticipation of decision-making or worries about the unknown, the characters of Way to Go only find growth and learning (as well as relief) by going forward.  Tom Ryan easily finds the voices of the teens, male and female, gay and straight, as well as the adults with whom they interact, as if he has been all those people and speaks from experience.  It's by taking bits and pieces from all of them that Danny comes to recognize that he needn't worry so much about who he would become but just be who he is now.  Life isn't a static enterprise that needs to be prodded to happen.  Even deciding to remain in Deep Cove would never ensure any constancy, just a permanent locale.  By choosing to take those first steps, Dan has chosen the direction of his progress and fortunately it is forward.