Jason June

(3 stars)

Normally, the way I would write a review would be more like my previous posts. However, in the spirits of the book, this one will be a little different. If you want to understand why, you’ll have to read the book.

Why you should read this book

• Star 1: The side characters.
  • These characters are definitely the reason that I kept reading the book. They’re each so different and show the diversity of what the queer community looks like.
• Star 2: The terrible jokes.
  • Seriously, they are so bad, but I laughed more than I should have. But it definitely added something to the humor of the book
• Star 3: The (mostly) stress-free romance.
  • Despite what it might seem like later in the review, I do like the romance between Jay and Albert (and the one between Max and Reese even more because they’re incredible). If you like the pace of Heartstopper, you will definitely like this. Nothing ever goes wrong for very long. It gets resolved within 2 chapters.
• Star .5: The cover and title.
  • Listen, I know you don’t judge a book by its cover, but who doesn’t want to be seen reading a book called Jay’s Gay Agenda. It’s a really good vibe, trust me.

The problems with the book

• Is this a good book? Yes. Did I get quite annoyed with some of the things that Jay did and excused? Also Yes.
• Everyone forgives Jay really quickly.
  • The climax occurs really quickly before the resolution. It feels like the author didn’t want to dwell on the negative aspects of a relationship.
  • Normally, this would not bother me, except it feels like it steps on the message of the book – if you want a message about how actions can hurt others, then you should show them as hurt for longer than a chapter or two, when it is not a misunderstanding.
• Albert deserved better.
  • The way that Jay just does things without any real considerations for Albert’s feelings and not even telling him the truth about what was going on. 
  • It should take more than just a simple apology for him to be forgiven. He deserved a very dramatic apology in public, followed by a very genuine apology in private. Jay treated Albert terribly, but gave a very superficial apology in public and almost no private apology.

Important messages and lessons from the book

• Life is not a rom-com and will not always end in your favor.
  • We see Jay do all the dumb things that a lot of rom-com characters do and it backfires on him.
  • Love triangles are really terrible thing to do to the people involved (even the one that “wins”)
• Just because you can justify your actions and you don’t do anything wrong, doesn’t mean that it won’t hurt others or that they have to be okay with it. 
  • We see Albert and Jay both agree what happened might not be “wrong,” but Albert was still hurt by what happened.
• Doing things because you feel like you are supposed to will only end up hurting you and others.
  • Jay feels like he is supposed to lose his virginity, and to check of the items on his “Gay Agenda” leading him to come across as though he is using people. It also lead to him becoming desperate to do something with a man and getting hurt because of it

Scenes that we deserved to see

• An angstier apology scene that matches the vibe of everything that was done.
  • Seriously, the apology scene was somewhat lame.
• Or, if we’re set on a brighter apology, then make it something like Heath Ledger in 10 Things I Hate About You
• More Max and Reese scenes
  • or even a whole book because those two are way better than Jay and Albert – maybe I’m just a bigger fan of second chance than love at first sight.
• A little more focused on Jay and Albert after the fight
  • definitely an angst fan

Why Reese is actually the best character

• He’s not gonna take anyone’s shit
• He’s unapologetically himself and doesn’t care what anyone thinks about him.
• Realist: he doesn’t view love as this universal bandage that can fix anything and everything, and that a relationship requires more than just love to work out.

Favorite quotes

• “Turned out, I didn’t need a Gay Agenda, I just needed a Jay Agenda. Being gay was a part of me, and I deserved to experience and enjoy all those firsts. But being gay wasn’t the only part of me that mattered.” (348)
• “That day, kissing in the rain, was I ready to cross first love off my agenda? Not quite. But I didn’t think it would take too long.” (350)
• “That’s why we’re so good together,’ Max said. ‘We’re both drama queens.” (317)
• I had to leave him. I knew if we stayed together, I wouldn’t focus . My whole world was him, so much that I missed three auditions and my agent threatened to drop me. I couldn’t find the balance. I had to leave but I didn’t…” (293)
• “You make an ass of Jay and me,’ Max said, then frowned. ‘Wait. That’s not right, is it?’  ‘No actually it is,’ Reeses said. ‘You and Jay are total asses.” (316)