Jason Peele is your typical high school student, with one exception. He’s gay. Maybe. It’s something he’s just beginning to accept, and on this path to acceptance, he encounters both hurdles and helpers. Hurdles include jilted girlfriend Meg, a conservative and concerned uncle and homophobic bullies Jimmy and Dane. They’re balanced out by a supportive friendship with Robert and a tall, dark, handsome student named Raj.
As Raj teaches Jason about Gandhi, non-violence, and nirvana, he also teaches Jason about what it means to be gay. It isn’t easy; who is it easy for? Two things make it easier for Jason: running on the track, where all his troubles can be left behind, and the secret knife he carries to protect himself. As Jason runs the race to self-acceptance and coming out, both the track and that knife become the source of even greater problems. There are some things you just can’t run away from. The confusion and fear and uncertainty of high school is captured perfectly. Equally confusing and also perfectly captured is that parade of “firsts: first sight, first touch, first kiss, first time: innocent, excited, frightened. It’s a story very different from my own, yet the similarities are there. The actions differ, life to life, but the emotions are what we all experienced. And the lessons are ones we all needed to learn: about honesty and bravery and respect
This review was originally published on homorazzi