It's Our Prom (So Deal with It): A Novel
It's Our Prom (So Deal with It): A Novel
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Paperback ©2012--
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Little, Brown & Co.
Annotation: Told in separate voices, Azure, a lesbian, and Luke, a bisexual, help plan an inclusive senior prom while Luke is writing a musical about his life, both are working through the crush they have on a friend, and all three have problems at home.
Genre: [Love stories]
 
Reviews: 5
Catalog Number: #5632407
Format: Paperback
Copyright Date: 2012
Edition Date: 2013 Release Date: 04/02/13
Pages: 342 pages
ISBN: 0-316-13144-X
ISBN 13: 978-0-316-13144-5
Dewey: Fic
LCCN: 2011031756
Dimensions: 21 cm.
Language: English
Reviews:
ALA Booklist

Peters takes a walk on the lighter side with this prom story told through two protagonists (and best friends) who are both crushing on the third member of their circle. Bisexual Luke and lesbian Azure are both smitten with straight Radhika, whose micromanaging Indian parents are pushing hard for her to excel at absolutely everything. All three friends end up on the Prom Committee, trying to come up with a less expensive, more inclusive senior prom for their Denver high school. Alternating narratives from Luke and Azure paint a clear picture of out, confident teens who embrace and appreciate their strengths. There are plenty of comedic missed and mixed messages, but Peters does not shy away from addressing homophobia in schools, in both students and faculty, and the impact of a nonsupportive family. Peters' fans may be initially surprised by the fluffier subject matter but will appreciate her supportive portrayal of gay teens. Romance readers will enjoy this alternative peek at prom and think more carefully about their own schools' prom society and customs.

Horn Book

Alternating narrators and best friends, Luke (who is bisexual) and Azure (a lesbian) both harbor secret crushes on their straight friend Radhika. When the three become involved in planning an inclusive prom, emotions threaten to spill over. This love-triangle narrative features by-the-numbers romance, but it might appeal to kids looking for an alternative to the standard LGBT problem novel.

Kirkus Reviews

A ho-hum and largely affectless take on what is now well-trodden ground in LGBT teen fiction. Peters (She Loves You, She Loves You Not, 2011, etc.) gives her tale to two narrators. Excitable Azure is a lesbian who works in a thrift store and has a clandestine crush on her straight friend Radhika. Mechanically-inclined Luke is bisexual and producing a play based on his coming-out experience--and also has secret feelings for Radhika. After Azure's apparent protest the previous year that prom was not inclusive enough, the school principal asks her to join the prom-planning committee. Azure ropes in Luke and, eventually, Radhika too, and suddenly a small group of students and one inexperienced teacher are scrambling to put together a nontraditional prom on a shoestring. Meanwhile, the love triangle deepens, Luke's brother's friend harasses Luke and an old girlfriend reappears in Azure's life. Though it is an adequate romance, little is new here: Luke's play and its production feels derivative of and inferior to the musical extravaganza in John Green and David Levithan's Will Grayson, Will Grayson (2010), and Madeleine George, Brendan Halpin, Brian Sloan and others have written LGBT teens at prom with far greater panache. Furthermore, a premier LGBT author and her editors should know better than to refer to transgender people as "transgenders." Fails to dazzle. (Fiction. 12 & up)

School Library Journal

Gr 9 Up-Azure has a secret crush on her best friend, Radhika, but so does her other best friend, Luke, who happens to be bisexual. When Azure's principal asks her to join the senior prom committee to make it more inclusive, she jumps at the chance, but having no idea how to organize a prom, she enlists her friends' help. From the first meeting, organization goes awry with a clueless advisor and only one member who has ever been involved in planning the event. Fundraisers fall flat, the hotel ballroom burns, and friendships are almost lost, but predictably, in the end, the committee pulls off the best-attended prom ever, replete with royalty, poetry slam, and a drag show. The story is told in alternating chapters by Azure and Luke, with subplots revealing familial issues, such as Radhika's strained relationship with her education-minded parents, old and new romances, and Luke's coming out "musidramedy." While many readers will be a step ahead of the next plot twist, they should still enjoy a fun read about a Denver high school whose idea of inclusivity goes beyond the norm to include all "geeks, freaks, and uniques." Betty S. Evans, Missouri State University, Springfield

Word Count: 73,053
Reading Level: 3.8
Interest Level: 7-12
Accelerated Reader: reading level: 3.8 / points: 10.0 / quiz: 158300 / grade: Upper Grades

In this funny and heartfelt novel from National Book Award finalist Julie Anne Peters, planning an alternative prom might not be as simple as it seems—especially when secret crushes are involved.

When Azure's principal gives her the chance to turn the school's traditional (and boring) senior prom into an event that will appeal to everyone, not just the jocks and cheerleaders, she jumps at the opportunity. Soon Azure manages to convince her best friends, Luke and Radhika, to join the prom committee as well. Facing heavy opposition and admittedly clueless about prom logistics, the three friends are nonetheless determined to succeed—if Luke's and Azure's secret crushes on Radhika don't push the committee members, and their friendships, to the breaking point first.

Told in two voices and filled with comical missed connections, It's Our Prom (So Deal With It) explores the ups and downs of planning an alternative prom—while dealing with an unrequited crush on your best friend—and shines with Peters's unmistakable wit and insight.


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