Love Drugged

Gr 7—10—Fifteen-year-old Jamie is so scared that his gay classmate will out him at school after finding him on a chat site that he desperately tries to respond to flirtations from Celia, a cute, rich girl in his First Knights Club. When his heart (and other body parts) just won't cooperate, Jamie "steals" an experimental drug designed to repress the homosexual response from Celia's father, a pharmaceutical scientist. As Jamie increases his dosage in order to be more physical with Celia, the side effects of the drug get progressively worse, until finally he realizes he must confront Dr. Gamez with the truth. During this confrontation, Dr. Gamez reveals that Jamie has just been a convenient guinea pig in his research, and Jamie recognizes just how evil the scientist and his drug really are. If the plot weren't unbelievable enough, it goes into overdrive on the final pages—Jamie sets the lab on fire; he comes out to his friends and family who, of course, love him unconditionally; newspapers distort the story, causing gay and antigay activists to demonstrate in Chicago streets; there is a lawsuit and countersuit where Jamie is awarded a million dollars; and his poverty-stricken parents get a new restaurant and begin life anew. Although this novel tries in the end to be positive, it seems to have a 1980s mindset while writing for 21st-century teens.—Betty S. Evans, Missouri State University, Springfield