So I got to meet Bill Konigsberg!

So I got to meet Bill Konigsberg at the Greensboro Bound 2019 Literary Festival a couple of days ago. I was so excited to hear him talk about The Music of What Happens and answer some audience questions. 

He was taller in person, but everyone seems taller in person for me:

Why thank you, I also think we're adorable.

If you are scratching your head and saying "Who's that?" then for shame. Read the following reviews and then come back to this post:

• The Music of What Happens
• The Porcupine of Truth, Part 1 and Part 2
• Out of the Pocket
• Honestly, Ben
• Openly Straight

You can't please everyone: The most interesting part of Konigberg's speech to me was when he talked briefly about what "issues" people have had with his books (basically, what people have complained about. 

People don't often complain (anymore) about the LGBTQ+ characters in his books, which was nice to hear--however, just a few hours before I went to hear him speak, I was working and recommending books to a lady for her granddaughter (as is my job) and gave me some side-eye and said, "I don't know how to ask you you this, but the book you recommended, it doesn't contain any . . . progressive characters, does it?" 

Sigh. I knew what she meant.

I assured her that the book, some re-telling of Little Red Riding Hood, did not contain progressive characters, although to be honest, I wasn't actually sure. 

But anyway, most people are not like that lady, thank goodness.

So you've got to please yourself: The Music of What Happens has been accused, if one looks deep into the bowels of its Goodreads reviews, of being insensitive to those with bipolar disorder (or mental illness in general) because of Jordan's mother. I didn't see that with this book. Yes, Jordan's mother is a frustrating character, but the book never says she is bipolar. Also, sometimes mentally ill people are not the best parents. This does not mean that the book is stating that all people with mental illnesses are bad.  I said this in my review:

[Jordan's mother] is mentally unstable, to put it mildly. She is a compulsive gambler and also exhibits symptoms of bipolar disorder (at least to my armchair Internet psychiatrist self). She is unable to work or provide a stable home life for Jordan, who is working his father's old food truck in a desperate attempt to earn money to pay the back mortgage.

I tried to have sympathy towards Jordan's mother, but man, she was a hot mess. Jordan and his mother definitely needed professional help, plus they would benefit from a bit of super-Max's positive thinking.

    

Where do I begin? Konigsberg talked about some misconceptions about his book Openly Straight, mainly that he wrote it as a coming-of-age story but people have misinterpreted it as a . . . love story? I totally didn't see it that way. 

I am going to revisit my own review to see if I even mentioned the love story part. I definitely did not. Here are a few things I did write about Openly Straight:
     

•  Ben, after experiencing a rather, um, explosive kiss with Rafe, says, "If I told my parents I was gay, they would probably throw me out of the house" (p. 242).  Ben's farmer father sounds like men I've met too many times.
     
• Anyone who thinks teenage boys are not drama queens has not spent a lot of time around teenage boys.
     
• I found out while reading this book that Bill Konigsberg had written a sequel from Ben's point of view! I checked it out of the library immediately--I actually drove to the downtown library where I had to park in a parking garage instead of reserving it and having it sent to the closest library.  I love Ben so much I parked in the parking garage. Believe me, I wouldn't do that for any book.

 
That last part is 100% true. I hate that parking garage. Incidentally, I had to park in that parking garage again when I went to the literary festival last Saturday.

Bi-erasure and Biphobia? Another issue Konigsberg mentioned was about Honestly, Ben, about which people claimed that Ben was "biphobic." I mentioned something about that in my review of Honestly, Ben:

Ben's father acts like a homophobic jerk, and Ben comes to the realization that he may never get validation from his father.  Rafe's mother is just too overwhelming--it is possible for someone to identify as straight or "mostly" straight, until they meet a person they happen to be attracted to. I don't think that is bisexual erasure.

I totally agree with my past self, and I don't even have a problem with Ben "labeling" (sorta) himself as "gay for Rafe but otherwise straight." Labels are flexible and can be as broad or specific as each separate person. Ben could be demi-romantic-homosexual (he's only attracted to me he has made an emotional connection with) but heterosexual otherwise. I am a bit jealous of people who can actually stick to one label. I guess that's what queer is for, but I can't get out of the negative connotations I have with that word. 


I can't read your mind: Konigsberg also mentioned that people have claimed that Carson in The Porcupine of Truth thought about Aisha in a "rapey" way.  

Okay, first of all: Have they ever MET a teenage boy? I worked with teenagers for 15 years as teacher, but after just ONE year, I could have told you that many of them are horndogs with no filters. That does not mean they are rapists: it means they are kids with hormones.  

And secondly: We (readers) were hearing Carson's thoughts, not his out-loud statements. I remember rolling my eyes at Carson's thoughts but also thinking about how authentically teenage boy they were.  I wrote this in The Porcupine of Truth part 1 post:

Even though Carson is so attracted to Aisha that he wonders a few times if she could change (he doesn't voice those ideas aloud, thank goodness; he would get NO pass from me if he did!), he understands that her identity just as she is is very important to her.  He admires that (even though he still has a crush!) and thinks that he does not feel as alone with her.

I also noted:

Carson often hides his feelings with his sense of humor, which I appreciate because I also make jokes (or at least have jokes pop into my head) during times in which humor is not a socially acceptable response (which makes it all the more funny--like the "wearing black socks with shorts" joke I made at a funeral once. Totally inappropriate but holy cow it was funny).

So maybe I also have a sense of humor that's part teenage boy.  Oops.

   
Interesting audience question: A lady in the audience asked a question about how some (more progressive) teenagers are almost experiencing social pressure to be LGBTQ+. Could a book be written, she mused, about someone figuring out that they're not gay?

Konigsberg acknowledged that that does happen and (very tactfully) said he thought that LGBTQ+ literature may not be quite ready for that story yet. 

However, the book Ramona Blue is a story about a lesbian teenager who is secure in her sexuality until she falls in love with an old friend--an old boy friend. It's not the same as someone de-transitioning or "turning" straight, but it's the only similar story I could think of, and yes, people had some issues with it. 

I said:

Ramona didn't suddenly become "cured" of her attraction to girls. She just experienced an attraction to a guy, which is something new for her.  Sexuality is fluid, and it's common, especially for women.  Honesty, I think more books should be written with bisexual or sexually-fluid characters.

I did tell the lady in the audience about Ramona Blue, but come to think of it, Dress Codes for Small Towns is another book in which the main character experiments with her sexuality but ends up with partnered with a boy.


I know you want to see my books:  Look, y'all!  I'm so excited. 😎😎😎

"For Jen, who reads the rainbow"

To Jen, who is wonderful!

These books are all available here: https://library.greensboro-nc.gov/

Learn more about the Rainbow Book List here: http://www.ala.org/rt/glbtrt