I don't know why I keep trying Jason June books. Each time I'm left with the same feeling, which is that I love the fun, lighthearted, LGBTQIA+ utopias he creates but think the characters are kind of insufferable. I'm all for flawed, queer characters especially teens, but there's a true lack of accountability here. Riley Weaver is a teen who is desperately trying to become part of the Gaybutantes, a society for LGBTQIA+ young adults that uplifts and supports them in all their endeavors. Riley ends making a bet that will make or break his Gaybutante season, and he has to find a date to the end of season ball, or he can't join. Pretty silly of him. This book explores femmephobia in an interesting, often nuanced way, but other reviewers who are more of this community, as well as the trans one, will tell you the way its explored doesn't always feel super inclusive. There's a lot on Goodreads about this. Also, the society is presented a place that's welcoming towards all queer youth, but as others pointed out, these teens kind of need serious financial support in order to throw huge parties, wear elaborate outfits and create general "gay chaos". I just feel like the author overlooked a lot.

Moving on the characters. Riley is not a good friend. His bestie Sabrina is not a good friend, or girlfriend, at times. Riley is selfish, he talks about people on his podcast all the time without their permission and has to manipulate someone into taking him to the ball without them knowing about the bet. He and Sabrina treat their other best friend like garbage and neglect all other aspects of their lives to become gaybutantes and never take accountability. They are deeply frustrating to read about.

Ultimately, this had its moments. It was funny (Jason June books usually are), and it was sweet. I'm all for queer joy, but maybe we can have a little queer accountability too.

This was so full of queer joy and found family I had the best time!! I loved Riley and Nick was the cutest golden retriever. A fast refreshing read with the cutest rep , I would have loved this as a teen it’s a smash hit!

Riley is irritating and self-centered and a terrible friend. And I made it through more than 70% of the book without him changing at all or facing any consequences. The audiobook performance makes him even more irritating (if possible).

He also talks a lot about not judging people for being gender-nonconforming but multiple times in the story he instantly assumes not just people's gender but also what's in their pants with no pushback.

The super queer friendly tiny town is also highly unrealistic (unfortunately) as is the way the hopefuls of the Gaybutante Society are all clearly quite wealthy. One of them parachutes to school from a helicopter his dads drive, for example. And it makes no sense for the four chapters of the society to be in New York, Atlanta, LA, and ... tiny town in the middle of nowhere.

*Thanks to HarperTeen for providing an early copy for review.

This was one of the cutest, most loud and proud type books I've ever read. Jason June is an auto-buy author for me and I'm sad that I waited so long to read this adorable book. The characters are as real and believable but also grow and develop and leave a lasting sense of hope for the future. I always know going into a Jason June book that it’s not going to be too heavy to handle, and it’s obvious that he has worked hard and established that trust with his readership, because most people who have read his books feel the same way I think.

I have to admit the first chapter took awhile for me to get through. I didn’t understand the bet nor how Riley would get a date without them knowing about the bet. The rest of the story flowed easily and was fast paced once I got through chapter one. Though not to spoil anything but the ending was a bit odd and rushed for me. And I had to ask myself did Riley like his choice in the end? Took me by surprise actually. Otherwise, it was a good story. Definitely recommend to others. I received this ARC from the publisher and NetGalley in exchange for my review.

Riley Weaver Needs a Date to the Gaybutante Ball is such a fun read! Riley is attempting to join the Gaybutante Society, but in addition to completing all four pillars of work, he has also taken on the additional challenge of proving Skylar wrong that gay guys can in fact be into femme guys.

I loved every aspect of this book: from Riley’s podcast to his flirting disasters to his friendship drama. Jason June has become an auto-buy author for me. All of his books are wonderful stories that help to provide more possibility models for readers.

Thank you to NetGalley and Harperteen for the electronic ARC of this title in exchange for an honest review.

Riley Weaver is a high school junior, very out, very femme. This is the year he’s been waiting for—the opportunity to join the Gaybutante Society! But then a very masc jock harasses him for being femme, a bet is made, and the pressure is on.

This is the second book that I have read by this author, and Riley does have a bit in common with Jay of Jay’s Gay Agenda. Teenage boys tend to be self-centered, put themselves first, and not always think about how others might feel about certain situations. Riley is not an exception. And his friends definitely let him know about it. Does he learn his lesson? Read to find out!

This book does shed some light on discrimination within the LGBTQIA+ community. Characters do question who represents the community. Does it go far enough? Does our MC recognize his own prejudices? Maybe not, but this is a YA book that starts a conversation.

[ARC provided by NetGalley for an honest review]

Riley Weaver is a gay, femme teen who wants one thing: membership to he Gaybutante Society. This queer organization has helped to launch the careers of creative and activist teens and for Riley, this is what he needs. He uses his podcast to help him try to land a date to the Gaybutante Ball. Otherwise, the he’ll lose the bet he makes with the school’s star athlete, that he’ll be able to find a date without changing his wonderful femme-self.

This book has a lot going for it which is also sometimes where it lost me. There’s a lot happening here. I was never truly clear on exactly what the Gaybutante Society was or how it operated… or how this teen is a podcasting legend and superstar but feels the need to join this club that could help launch his career when he seems to be doing just fine without it.

That said, there was so much representation, something that Jason June does so well and so seamlessly. There is a ton of heart in the story and readers will want to cheer for Riley’s success from start to finish.

3.5 stars rounded up

I was really hoping this would get better as it went on... but it just didn't. I did really like that this book is incredibly queer-inclusive, with a fun plot surrounding the Gaybutante, but I just could not get on with the main character. While the main character does a great job of tackling femmephobia, he was just one of the most infuriating people - he was incredibly selfish, never really received any consequences for how horrible he was to his friends, who really did not deserve how he treated them. He also made a big deal at the beginning about not assuming genitalia = gender, or sexuality, but then throughout the book he did then assume these things? Maybe it's just me, because this book has some great reviews, but it really did not work for me.

3.5 Stars

If you like this books is going to largely depend on if you like the main character, and for me Riley was extremely real. Teenagers aren't always the most self aware or compassionate, and there were times when Riley was selfish and had major main character syndrome. But I felt he grew through that and I enjoyed getting to watch that. The message of the book was great, there was wonderful representation, and it was fast paced and just plain fun.

Riley is a femme gay male who wants to attend the Gaybutante Ball and now that he is a Junior he is finally eligible. There is only one thing standing in his way- a date. And finding one is more difficult than he expects after overhearing some masc gay males in his class talk about not wanting to date femme gay men. Riley uses his podcast to discuss the complexities and realities of femme and masc, of dating and so much more. But does he end up with a date? Or does he end up being removed from the society that he so desperately loves?

Read the beautiful, emotional, genuinely touching novel by Jason June to find out all of these answers and so much more. This may be one of my favorite novels this year.

I really enjoyed this fun, silly book! If you're looking for something deep and life changing, this isn't the book for you, but if you want a celebration of gay femme chaos, you will very likely enjoy <i>Riley Weaver Needs a Date to the Gaybutante Ball</i>.

It was fun to see a world where queer teens could celebrate that part of themselves and use it both to have fun and boost their future success. Riley's dating escapades and pitfalls were fun to read about and the amount of teen Drama in the book kept it constantly moving and full of action.

It's the Gaybutante Season, therefore, it's Riley's season! Every year in Mountain Pass, the students have a chance of being a part of the Gaybutante Society, it's a stepping stone for hopefuls to covet life long success. Because of a few haters, Riley made a bet that femme gays like him can date masc gays, and if he loses, he will step down as a Gaybutante hopeful and risk his dreams in the future.

This was such an adorable story! I also learned a lot from this book! It was an adventure going along with Riley and his life as he battles haters, struggles with friendship troubles, and just creating the best gay chaos in his community.

Though the plot was great, it took me awhile to actually get to the groove of the story. it has a feeling of step by step process of what he is doing. As i got through half way, i felt as though the story and the flow was making more sense. I love the discoveries and the conflict that Riley went through. There are times that the book got predictable too. But I loved how everything fell into place.

Truly, this was a charming story of proving to others oneself and learning so much more in the process. This a good read and you might learn something too.

This one was just too silly and over dramatic for me. Riley is selfish and often unkind, and while he briefly faces consequences for some of his behavior much of his tendency to use other people just goes by as if it is "normal" behavior (worryingly, it is sometimes pitched as normal behavior specifically for gay teenagers, which suggests the author really doesn't think much of gay teenagers and has either internalized or is really trading on some problematic gay stereotypes). The entire plot feels vapid and shallow and if it wasn't written by an OwnVoices author I'd think it was intended to be a vicious satire of LQBTQIA2S+ culture

I have conflicting thoughts. On one hand, when I finished this book I generally enjoyed it. There were a couple points that irked me and things that I think could have been done better, but it was a solid book.

After reading some of the reviews and looking at some of the author's content about this book I'm feeling more conflicted than ever.

The whole premise of this book is talking about femmephobia within the queer community which is something that exists and something that should be talked about. But there's a certain level of tone deafness that comes from both the main character and the author when talking about this topic. The main character is pretty much a stand-in for the author being that they're both femme white gay men and both are so surprised at this queer phobia within the queer community. As a fat white autistic asexual aromantic (probably agender) person, queerphobia within the queer community is a daily occurrence for me and it's so wild to me that people don't realize that.

There is so much toxicity within specific queer groups and as welcoming and wonderful as the queer community can be, there are still a lot of toxic values and stereotypes being pushed and perpetuated that are rooted in racism and misogyny and fat phobia.

And what's conflicting though is that that's what this book is trying to tackle but the key word there is trying. I don't know if it's totally successful.

For a character who is so verbal about gender and appearance not being the same thing and not having anything to do with sexuality, there are a lot of references to genitals in this book. Our main character is AMAB and reminds us multiple times throughout the story that he has a dick and just because he dresses femme doesn't mean he's not a man.

This is the moment where I just want to scream a bit because it defeats the whole purpose of the story. You do not have to have a dick to be gay. Not sure how to make that more clear.

I feel like now I'm just getting frustrated as I'm trying to dictate this review and I do want to touch on the fact that this book tried to have some diversity and I appreciated that I also appreciated the inclusion of both asexual and aromantic labels when discussing the queer community. There's a character who has an asexual boyfriend and the word aromantic is used once but if you're going to have a book centered around queerness, I'm going to need more queer diversity. It's not bad and it's definitely not only cis gay men, but it could have been better.

Oh my god, this book has my HEART. It is utterly beautiful, emotional and had a very good pace. I've fallen in love with all of the characters, and I really enjoyed reading their character arcs. The LGBTQ+ rep was also absolutely fantastic. Highly recommend.

everything that jason june writes is an automatic yes. i love the stories that they craft of queer people of all different identities. each book feels different and a different queer kid can relate to each one. they don’t fit into the stereotypical queer identity

How have I not read any Jason June novels before?? I even own two others!! This was so much fun, to be honest, I knew it would be from the cover alone.
We're introduced to Riley Weaver and his quest to join the Gaybutante Society, the organisation that has launched many queer teens' careers. But to attend the Gaybutante Ball at the end of the year, Riley Weaver needs a date.
Jason June explores labels and how they both limit and liberate us, the book also delves deeper into discussing how queer people themselves are responsible for some of these limitations with labels.
Overall, this was a very joyous book with thought-provoking topics and a very likeable main character. Jason June's backlist is moving up my TBR immediately!

Oh, to be a Gaybutante! What a world it would be if there were a Gaybutante Society to lift up queer youth and springboard their future successes. I loved the concept, the queer rep, and the primary messaging about being true to yourself and not letting others define or limit who can be attracted to or desired by whom.

The whole concept of Riley’s femme identity being a turnoff for cis masc gay boys was ludicrous to me, but I can see how a young person might let that kind of negativity affect their confidence.

That said, there was a moment early on when I was a little worried about the messaging, particularly when the antagonist suggests Riley should change his identity. Thankfully, that venomous observation is surpassed by a more positive take on gender and the inherently inclusive spectrum of queer identity as the characters grow.

All in all, Riley Weaver is a fun escape into a world where the queer kids get a chance to grow into their best selves with the help and support of a strong community with their best success at heart.

I enjoyed Riley’s style, his commitment to proving the haters wrong, and his ultimate development into a confident advocate for himself and others who dream of showing their true selves to the world.

Thank you #NetGalley, HarperTeen, and HarperCollins Children for the chance to read this in exchange for my honest review.

Jason June has done it again! Jason June is an auto-buy author for me and I absolutely loved Riley Weaver Needs a Date to the Gaybutante Ball. This book is a great additional to your YA shelf with queer rep, a femme main character, and Jason June's signature style of easy to read and honest prose.