Totally Joe

Publishers Weekly

Delivering trenchant messages about tolerance, self-knowledge and the vacuity of teenage popularity, Howe's ultimately uplifting tale marks the welcome return of the Gang of Five (though there are really only four), introduced in The Misfits. The novel's innovative format reveals the "alphabiography" of 13-year-old Joe Bunch, the gay member of the seventh-grade misfits. In this alphabetical survey, assigned by his English teacher, he shares his heartfelt, snappy reflections. For "A is for Addie," he recalls his earlier years, when he liked to dress up and play with Barbie dolls (a pastime that bonded him to Addie, also from the Gang of Five). He confesses that in fifth grade he wanted to be a "guy-guy" so badly that he asked his friend to teach him how ("Oh. My. God. It was pathetic"). Joe has a crush on "totally cool, smart" Colin (the "C" entry), a jock who returns his affection but is not ready to go public with their relationship and eventually calls it off. Encouraged by his insightful aunt, Joe takes a major leap when he comes out to his supportive family. Howe deals with weighty issues, but uses Joe's affable personality to interject ample humor, and the hero ends each segment with a "Life Lesson," many presenting principles appropriate to any kid (e.g., "Just be who you are, okay?"). This narrator is anything but an average Joe: he's candid, memorable and-though he might find this hard to believe-totally charismatic. Ages 10-14. (Oct.) Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.

KLIATT

Howe continues the story of 13-year-old Joe, one of the protagonists of his fine novel The Misfits, in this "alphabiography." As an English assignment, Joe is told to write about his life over the school year from A to Z, with each alphabetical chapter ending in a "Life Lesson" to be shared with others. At first he thinks this is "lame," but soon he embraces the format and starts to reveal his life in short, funny, touching vignettes. As he'd be the first to proclaim, Joe is not exactly an average Joe: he's gay and comfortable with it, and in the course of the novel he acquires his first boyfriend and comes out to his supportive (and unsurprised) family. Joe's lively voice is charming and funny, and it's refreshing to get the point of view of a (mostly) happy gay character in YA fiction. As in The Misfits, Howe's real topic is the devastating effects of intolerance, and the harassment Joe and his boyfriend endure in the course of Totally Joe provokes Joe's good friend Addie to lobby for a school gay-straight alliance, while Joe acquires the self-confidence to report a bully who's been taunting him to a school administrator. This funny, inspiring novel may help give gay YAs hope and everyone the courage to speak out against discrimination; readers both gay and straight will enjoy the experience of seeing life through Joe's eyes. There's absolutely nothing sexually explicit here, by the way. KLIATT Codes: J*—Exceptional book, recommended for junior high school students. 2005, Simon & Schuster, Atheneum, 208p., Ages 12 to 15.
—Paula Rohrlick

School Library Journal

Gr 6-8-Joe's teacher asks his seventh-grade class to write an "alphabiography" throughout the year, presenting themselves and their lives in entries from A to Z. Joe's essays begin and end with friends, from Addie, a long-time pal and confidant, to Zachary, a new student who, like Joe, has a unique approach to life. Throughout, Joe demonstrates that he truly is a one-of-a-kind kid, mostly comfortable with himself but still struggling with common adolescent issues. It's difficult for him to relate to his athletic brother, and he misses his much-loved Aunt Pam, who moves to New York City. He also comes to grips with his sexuality, questioning gender expectations and traditional roles as he realizes he is gay. Because he is different, he is tormented by Kevin, who calls him a "girl" and "faggot" and falsely accuses him of kissing his friend Colin (a jock not yet ready to come out). Joe's narration always feels honest if not entirely credible. He and his family accept his emerging sexuality rather easily. While a range of responses is depicted, the characters seem to come around too quickly. For example, when the principal is informed of Kevin's actions, he, too, handles the situation expeditiously, and the troublemaker conveniently transfers to another school. Though idealized and contrived, the approach is novel and the conclusion optimistic.-Maria B. Salvadore, formerly at Washington DC Public Library Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.

Kirkus Reviews

One quarter of the "Gang of Five" from The Misfits (2001) tells his own story of coming out and overcoming bullies and prejudice through alphabetical entries in his "alphabiography." Joe Bunch aka JoDan aka Scorpio (among other names) works his way from October to March to fulfill his teacher Mr. Daly's assignment to write about his life from A to Z, including "life lessons" at the end of each entry. Though things do go Joe's way, the story is nothing but realistic. Howe has created a character that lives and breathes with all of the inconsistencies, fears and longings of your normal average seventh-grade homosexual. Joe still thinks "exchanging saliva" is excruciatingly gross, but he knows he wants to date boys. He thinks Colin is cute and fun to be with, but Joe just can't "tone down" on command. His family is not surprised when he finally lets them in on his secret with the gentle assistance of his artistic Aunt Pam and his (sometimes overly) helpful best friend Addie. The timeline overlaps the events of the companion novel, but fans of the first won't feel deja vu. There's more of a sense of spending extra time with a favorite friend. (Fiction. 10-14)

From the Publisher

* “The welcome return of the Gang of Five (though there are really only four) introduced in The Misfits…. This narrator is anything but an average Joe: he’s candid, memorable and—though he might find this hard to believe—totally charismatic.”—Publishers Weekly, *STAR

"Joe's voice is both real and funny, ensuring accessibility to a wide range of students, male or female, gay or straight."

—School Library Journal, February 2011