Review: Fan Art by Sarah Tregay

Fan Art
by Sarah Tregay
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Publication Date: June 17th 2014
Publisher: Katherine Tegen Books
Pages: 368
ISBN: 9780062243157
Genre: Young Adult | LGBT | Contemporary
Source: Edelweiss

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When the picture tells the story…

Senior year is almost over, and Jamie Peterson has a big problem. Not college—that’s all set. Not prom—he’ll find a date somehow. No, it’s the worst problem of all: he’s fallen for his best friend.

As much as Jamie tries to keep it under wraps, everyone seems to know where his affections lie, and the giggling girls in art class are determined to help Jamie get together with Mason. But Jamie isn’t sure if that’s what he wants—because as much as Jamie would like to come clean to Mason, what if the truth ruins everything? What if there are no more road trips, taco dinners, or movie nights? Does he dare risk a childhood friendship for romance?

This book is about what happens when a picture reveals what we can’t say, when art is truer than life, and how falling in love is easy, except when it’s not. Fan Art explores the joys and pains of friendship, of pressing boundaries, and how facing our worst fears can sometimes lead us to what we want most. (Goodreads)

Fan Art is the story about high school senior Jamie Peterson, who has a big secret -- he has a huge crush on his best friend, Mason. It doesn’t really feel like a secret, however, because everyone in his school seems to know exactly how Jamie feels. Everyone expect for Mason, the one person that Jamie actually wants to know how he feels. With the school year almost over, and college quickly approaching, Jamie must decide if he’s willing to risk friendship for love.

The main character, Jamie, was a somewhat frustrating character. While he was very smart and definitely artistic, he was also extremely obtuse. I wanted to shake some sense into him, and tell him to open his eyes and take a good look around him. The hints were there, he just didn’t see them, or chose not to and hid behind flimsy excuses so that he wouldn’t have to deal with it, (even though that is exactly what he wanted to do!) Mason, however, seemed to know exactly what he wanted, even though he was trying to let Jamie figure out everything for himself. I really enjoyed Mason’s character, although I do with he would have help Jamie more along the way.

I’ve only read a handful of LGBT books, so I really don’t have much to compare to. I read this book as I would any other contemporary novel; it was a love story, plain and simple. The storyline for the book is pretty much about Jamie’s struggle with wanting to come out to his best friend, but not knowing how to go about it, and at times, even being afraid to do so. Even though I’ve never been in the situation that Jamie was in, I was still able to relate with the way that he felt at times throughout the book, and because of that the storyline felt very realistic.

One thing that I really loved about this book was the support that Jamie had from his parents. And not just from his parents, but from his friends and the kids at his school as well. In a world where there are so many haters, it’s nice to see some support out there. I also really feel like this book sends out a very positive message about just being yourself, and loving yourself no matter what.

Overall; while I had my issues with the main character, I still enjoyed reading this book. A love story is a love story to me, despite whom the characters may be, and I can’t resist a good love story.