Fan Art by Sarah Tregay - Review

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I read an ARC edition picked up from a used book sale.

Rounded up from 3.5 stars.

Jamie, a senior in high school, has a problem. He's fallen for his best friend, Mason. He knows that if he were to reveal his feelings, chances are very high that the whole situation would end in heartbreak. Also, he hasn't come out to anyone at school yet, only his mom, but it seems like a lot of the girls in art class have already figured it out and want to help set them up. Jamie's worried that when he does come out to Mason that it will ruin their great friendship, and Jamie isn't willing to risk everything. Jamie is also involved in the Gumshoe, the school magazine, and there's a graphic short that features material some worry may cause controversy. If Jamie wants the submission to appear, he's going to have to stand up and fight for what he believes in before it's too late.

Overall, I enjoyed the plot and found the characters to be quite relatable and realistic. Jamie and his friends sound very much people I went to school with. I can only imagine that Jamie's story parallels what real teens face on a regular basis. It's one of those stories that needs to be told. It's also great to see Jamie's fantastic support system along the way; his mom is brilliant.

My main issue with the story is that the conflict at the heart of the story relies heavily on Jamie's indecision to come out to his best friend. At times, it could honestly get exhausting listening to his waffling internal monologue for pages on end, and then by the end of the story (view spoiler)[he never actually makes a decision because it's made for him by forces outside of his control (hide spoiler)] although the ending is pretty sweet (view spoiler)[depending on how you look at what happens with Mason and his family, that is (hide spoiler)]. The author also uses stereotypes throughout for pretty much all of the characters.

Regardless, I still think the story at the heart of Fan Art is definitely worth your time, especially if you liked Will Grayson, Will Grayson by John Green and David Levithan.

By the way, Mason looks like Darren Criss with black plastic glasses.




I read this ARC from January 10 - 14, 2015 and my review is also on Goodreads.