The Age of Queer Defiance, a guest post by Matthew Hubbard
“We’re here” burns like a fire inside me. Those two words became my battle cry at the beginning of 2022. That was when I started writing what would become my debut YA novel, The Last Boyfriends Rules for Revenge, about queer teens in a rural Alabama town who deal with heartbreak. However, as I was writing, Florida HB 1557, known as the “Don’t Say Gay” bill, began targeting my community. I felt helpless, swallowed by the darkness of grief. So I did the only thing I could control and turned to the blinking cursor on my manuscript document in search of joy, of light to guide me through. It was a quest for both for myself and for the characters I’d created who were now targets of a state’s legislature.
We’re here, I thought as I wrote for all the queer teens simply trying to exist. I’m here.
As I found my way through many emotions—rage, sadness, helplessness—I carried the uncertainty of all those affected by anti-LGBTQ+ legislation. The weight reminded me of growing up in a small Alabama town similar to my debut’s setting. Just like the main character, Ezra, I felt alone and bullied by the world. I’d often beg the universe for answers after being harassed at school: Will I always be alone? Will I ever belong? Do I even matter? Now, as an adult, I knew how I’d answered them, but a new era of political fire changed the questions.
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
Why are they attempting to isolate us?
Why don’t they want us to belong?
Why don’t they want us to matter?
My characters, as well as their real-life counterparts in Florida and other states, were being harassed by people in power. I knew they deserved an answer, but I also knew no answer would ever be good enough. The reasoning behind highly flammable politics wouldn’t mend broken hearts or the deep ache caused by hate. Like the old adage states, “If you’re going through hell, keep going.” All I could do was help them—and myself—navigate it. As I set out to write, protecting my characters made me feel like a father.
My father once told me that the best revenge is believing in yourself. His advice came rushing forth in my memory as I looked at the world around me, as those new questions threatened to drag me down. The people in power were attempting to isolate my community, make us feel unwelcomed, and convince us we didn’t matter. However, they couldn’t stop us from believing in ourselves. That’s part of the coming-of-age journey. It’s supposed to be a joyful, albeit emotion-riddled, experience. LGBTQ+ youth were (and are) being robbed of that, and I kept thinking that I would give my children the same advice I’d heard growing up. This led me to write myself into the story as my main character’s father so I could share the wisdom I’ve gained in my own search for joy while coming of age in the rural South.
For me, growing up queer felt like constantly trying to fold into the smallest version of myself so my existence bothered no one—and that is the same motive behind the hateful, anti-LGBTQ+ legislation. Those laws are a direct attempt to erase our existence and keep us from realizing we’re here and have our own identity. Folding ourselves smaller and smaller is not an option now. If we let them erase us, they keep us alone. If they keep us alone, they make us exist only to survive. I knew I had to address these very real issues while writing. I also knew that my characters couldn’t let their coming-of-age experience be robbed of joy because they’re only focused on surviving the hate.
In The Last Boyfriends Rules for Revenge, Ezra and his friends Lucas and Finley set out to get revenge on their ex-boyfriends but find themselves silenced by a fictional school district agenda called “Watch What You Say.” However, instead of folding themselves into nonexistence like the school superintendent wants, Ezra and his friends refuse to stop believing in themselves. I wanted to show these characters, as well as future readers, that they have the option to fight back in any way they can. The friends embark on a comedy of errors and learn to rely on each other when the school attempts to isolate them. When they feel like they don’t belong, they carve out their own space both in the school and online. When school leaders attempt to make them feel worthless, they defy the agenda’s motives by asserting the reasons that they matter.
It’s crucial to empower teens to find their voice and their community while advocating for their rights. It’s just as crucial to highlight queer joy and friendship, especially when readers are coming of age during turbulent times. It’s more important than ever to show readers that they belong here and are allowed the experiences that come with being a teen: confiding in a best friend about a crush, gushing about a new album from their favorite artist, making mistakes because they aren’t perfect, and even plotting comedic revenge tactics against ex-boyfriends as a way to mend their broken hearts.
The point is that queer youth are allowed to live life and experience it to the fullest extent on their own terms—they deserve to believe in themselves no matter who tries to tell them they shouldn’t. It is the best revenge, after all.
Meet the author
Matthew Hubbard writes the kind of stories he wished he’d had as a teen in rural Alabama. He grew up on a mountaintop farm and knows more than he is willing to admit about small towns. He studied English, marketing, and psychology in college. When he isn’t writing, Matthew can be found on a hike in search of breathtaking views, reading as many books as he can get his hands on, and cheering for his favorite hockey team. He lives in Chattanooga with his husband, their dogs Layla and Phillip, and Jay Gatsby the cat. The Last Boyfriends Rules for Revenge is his first novel.
Site: MatthewHubbardWrites.com
Social: @MatthewHubbard
About The Last Boyfriends Rules for Revenge
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
A queer coming-of-age about three teenage boys in small town Alabama who set out to get revenge on their ex-boyfriends and end up starting a student rebellion. Perfect for fans of Becky Albertalli and Jason June!
Ezra Hayes has always felt like a background character compared to BFFs Lucas and Finley. He would do anything to be seen as a romantic lead, even if it means keeping his boyfriend, Presley, a secret. But when he discovers that Presley is a lying cheater, and his best friends are having boy problems of their own, they want revenge.
Their plans to get even involve sabotaging the largest party of the year, entering a drag competition, and even having Ezra run against his ex for Winter Formal King. Then the school district starts to actively censor queer voices with their Watch What You Say initiative. Taking to TikTok to vent frustrations, Ezra begins “The Last Boyfriends Student Rebellion.”
Between ex-boyfriend drama and navigating viral TikTok fame, Ezra realizes this rebellion is about something more important than revenge. It’s a battle cry to fight back against outdated opinions and redefine what it means to be queer in small town Alabama.
ISBN-13: 9780593707173
Publisher: Random House Children’s Books
Publication date: 04/30/2024
Age Range: 14 – 17 Years
Filed under: Guest Post
About Amanda MacGregor
Amanda MacGregor works in an elementary library, loves dogs, and can be found on Twitter @CiteSomething.
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
SLJ Blog Network
Gallery: The New York Times Best Illustrated Books of 2024
Review of the Day: Kwame Crashes the Underworld by Craig Kofi Farmer
Papercutz Adds a Second Volume of Lost in the Future | News and Preview
The Seven Bills That Will Safeguard the Future of School Librarianship
Gayle Forman Visits The Yarn!
ADVERTISEMENT