Getting It » (Reprint)

Alex Sanchez received his master's degree in guidance and counseling from Old Dominion University. For many years he worked as a youth and family counselor. His novels include the Lambda Award-winning So Hard to Say, the Rainbow Boys trilogy, and Bait. When not writing, Alex tours the country talking with teens, librarians, and educators about the importance of teaching tolerance and self-acceptance. Originally from Mexico, Alex now lives in Thailand and Hollywood, Florida. Visit Alex at www.AlexSanchez.com.

Fifteen-year-old Carlos Amoroso is a virgin — and he isn't happy about it. He'd love to hook up with gorgeous Roxy, but she has no idea he's alive. Watching a TV show one night gives Carlos an idea: What if he got a makeover from Sal, a senior at his school who's gay? Sal agrees — but only if Carlos helps him start a Gay-Straight Alliance. Carlos doesn't expect the catch. What are his friends going to think? And is he ever going to get what he wants?

Publishers Weekly

Sanchez (Rainbow Boys) begins with an intriguing premise: inspired by the TV show Queer Eye, 15-year-old Carlos Amoroso asks Sal, the gay guy at school, to make him over so he can stop being a "girlfriend-less virgin." Sal agrees, in exchange for Carlos's help with forming a Gay-Straight Alliance. As Sal helps Carlos fix up his room and shop for clothes and even eat better he also teaches Carlos to be more honest and to stand up for what is right. The story goes on a bit too long, but the author presents an authentic if somewhat raw world here: the characters describe their hookups, many of which begin with the Web; his friends tell Carlos about the "hookup rules" that explain why his crush, Roxy, ignores him the day after they make out. The author also gives readers valuable information and ideas: his mother's boyfriend tells Carlos of the importance of condoms; when forming the GSA, Carlos tells his uncooperative principal that "because of, um, a Supreme Court decision... you haveto allow the club"; and Sal speculates about why gay guys have style ("None of the guys will come near you and you try to figure out why. So you notice things how people dress, wear their hair, decorate their room"). In the end, it is sensitive-but-flawed Carlos and his struggle to do right that keeps this story grounded. Ages 12-up. (Oct.)