all stereotypes, all the time

First Time for Everything by Henry Fry

Rating: 3 stars (out of 5)

Genre: fiction

Review: I want to be very upfront about my reservations about reviewing this book.  I was deeply uncomfortable by what I felt were the stereotypes that the author deals in.  However, I'm not a part of the LGBTQIA+ community (only a friend/ally), and I don't pretend to be able to speak to the stereotypes presented.

The world of young, queer London is presented to us through the eyes of Danny Scudd.  Danny wants to be a journalist, and currently works in that gray space between journalism and social media, for a company that may or may not just be trying to exploit its readers with clickbait.  Danny is out, although one wouldn't call him proud, and is about to find himself single and in need of a new home.  Danny also suffers from crippling anxiety, and he seems to think that a good way to deal with it is to get roaring drunk and do really stupid things (which he's then anxious about the next day).

Enter Jacob, Danny's long-time best friend, who is outer than out and prouder than proud.  Jacobs insists that Danny move in with them and their collection of off-beat housemates, and that Danny start therapy, thus setting in motion Danny's realization that although he's not actively hiding the fact that he's gay, he's not exactly embracing it either.  Danny's path to figuring out how to come to terms with what it means to be gay will take lead him to take some unexpected actions, and may or may not cost him his friendship with Jacob.

But the message that Danny gets as he goes on this journey of self-discovery was part of the stereotyping that I was troubled by.  To me, it seemed as though all the other queer people (men, in particular) in Danny's life were telling him that the reason he wasn't happy was that he was trying to fit himself into the heteronormative paradigm of monogamy as a form of self-hatred.  Yes, there is at least one example of a deeply committed, happy, monogamous queer relationship in the book, but that seemed like it was supposed to be something that was definitely out of the norm.  So if they can do it, why can't Danny?

FTC Disclaimer: I received this book from the publisher in exchange for this review.