I really enjoyed this sex-positive queer rom-com, perfect for fans of Becky Albertalli and Phil Stamper. The main character, Jay, is a compelling narrator who is funny and imperfect, and Jay's personality felt very authentic to teen readers. An anthem to queer teens, this book celebrates LGBTQIA+ stories in a way that feels both familiar and fresh.

2.5 stars

Things went downhill in the last 25%, but even before that this was never going to be one of my favorites, just because it's very clearly written for a younger audience.

The writing style uses that sense of heightened reality that you see in a lot of high school movies/tv shows, which doesn't really appeal to me. (For instance, the intricate costume contests that first his entire hometown, and then his entire new high school are participating in.) Everything's just a bit OTT.

I did really like the representation of a character who has been stunted in his early romantic/sexual explorations by circumstances he has zero control over.

Jay is the only gay kid he knows of in his whole town, so he has spent his entire adolescence on the sidelines watching his friends and classmates fumble their way through those first years of figuring out relationships without getting any practice/experience himself.

So it made perfect sense to me that he would make a lot of mistakes when he's thrown into the deep end of the dating pool for the first time as a senior in high school. He is suddenly surrounded by all the things he has only been able to fantasize about, and teenagers are not known for patience and moderation. 

That felt real and interesting, and I could completely sympathize with the decisions he was making, even while cringing at how badly this was all going to turn out. This is a kid who, in the natural course of things, would have had his first boyfriend at age 13/14/15. He's now 17/18, with all the desires that entails, and trying to smoosh all the firsts that normally get spread over many years into one semester while surrounded by people he doesn't know very well. 

I liked Jay, and I loved that he had great parents who still felt very natural and real without being a huge part of the story.

I was not ok with a decision Jay makes about three-quarters into the book, but not in a way that knocked my rating down. I just don't think it was realistic to make the questionable decisions quite so extreme -- subtle this book is not -- and everything kind of explodes from there.

There's too much going on, the MC and author are both juggling a few too many plates in the air, and the whole thing feels just a bit too messy and chaotic, both in circumstances and in the writing.

There are a few unnecessary "twists" that end up making everybody look like complete assholes, and every single thing goes wrong in the most dramatic ways possible, all at the same time. Then we get a bunch of OTT grand gestures made as apologies that all lead to instant forgiveness and are presented as full solutions to all past mistakes. Ugh.

The Covid choices were weird, too. Why make a point of mentioning the quarantine and making a critical observation of one instance of behavior that's concerning because of Covid to then completely ignore it in every other scene? Nothing about this world felt like it was happening during a pandemic -- other than those scenes that specifically mentioned the active pandemic. It was bizarre.

And then there's the friend with the super serious financial problems. My goodness, that was stressing me out. It felt like there were some simple, obvious solutions that were just NOT BEING DISCUSSED!!! I get not wanting to turn a YA romance into money lessons, but then why have it there at all? This book is just not meant for adults who tend to engage their critical thinking skills even while reading a romance novel.

Mostly this feels like a lot of potential going to waste, but I do think it will be  more successful for its younger audience.

I absolutely appreciated that this felt realistic--Jay made terrible decisions and was overall pretty selfish, and that felt like an 18 year old boy exposed to the world for the first time. Although I can appreciate it, it did make for some incredibly cringe moments for me.

Jay's Gay Agenda is a charming and loving book that includes a sex positive movement that most of us would've liked to have when we were younger, because such topics clearly weren't discussed in our daily lives. It leads to an adventure of getting to know people, to have fun and bad experiences which is truly how it goes for most of us because we don't have the right sources in front of us and we have to look for them.

This book was cute and very enjoyable. I think it is a good coming of age story for teens that are in the lgbtq community, especially if they grew up in a small town. I'll be requesting this book for our library in hopes that it will be a book that helps a teen in my small-town community. It is a good book even for people that don't identify as lgbtq.

I absolutely adored this book! Jay's voice leaps off the page and I was instantly invested in his story. Jay is messy and honest and real.

A fast paced , fun, queer young adult love story! This story is a story LGBTQIA youth need! I would recommend this for 14+ because of the extremely sex positive story line might not be suitable for a younger crowd. Having Jay be someone struggling with his flaws as a human on top of being gay in a small town is something relatable. This story showed that even young relationships can be complicated is something that is not frequently shown in young adult rom coms

What a surprising, funny, and sex-positive book! I did not expect much from this novel, another in a long line of recent queer YA stories, but author Jason June has injected realistic messiness into this gay rom-com, making for an unexpected and enjoyable read. Some readers who prefer their queer stories to be cookie-cutter will no doubt balk at a few of the turns this novel takes, but I welcomed the messiness. I hope we see more stories like this in the future!

Thank you to HarperCollins Children's Books and NetGalley for providing an ARC.

A laugh-out-loud but heartfelt story of finding yourself, making mistakes, and learning how to navigate the big city - while also full of raging hormones!

Jay is used to being the only gay kid in his small Eastern Washington town, and he dreams of the day when he can meet over gay people and (gasp!) maybe kiss some of them! A list called ‘Jay’s Gay Agenda’ details all his goals for being an out and proud gay person … goals that are impossible to achieve in his tiny town. When his mother gets a promotion in her job, though, and his family moves from a literal log cabin to an apartment in the middle of Seattle’s ‘gay district’ … well, let the fun begin!

What follows is a hilarious and heartbreaking story, where Jay meets new friends, gets volunteered to help run the homecoming committee, attempts to navigate his best friends disastrous life while being hundreds of miles away, and, of course, meets a lot of VSBs (Very Sexy Boys). Kisses are exchanged, (lots of) mistakes are made, arguments are had, digital creatures are caught, and dinosaurs are defeated - and Jay learns about who he is in and what he wants in life.

This story was a delight from start to finish - as a native Seattleite, the fact that the author knew the city was extremely important - and he did a great job describing it! I could practically picture all the places Jay had his shenanigans, even if they were made up. This was a quick, fun, important read, and I am looking forward to checking out Jason June’s other works.

Audiobook Review:
Overall – 5
Performance – 5
Story – 4

I enjoyed this but reader beware…

The storyline contains what most will probably call cheating and I agree. Where I am a bit different is that I don’t mind cheating too much in fiction while I abhor it in real life. I know some might find this strange and I really can’t explain it to myself even. I will say that when I got to the part of the story where it was obvious that Jay wasn’t behaving in the best way, I could see that it was all going to fall apart for him. I just kept thinking he’s going to regret this; it’s going to come back and bite him in the butt.

The thing is, this is a YA/NA story and young people do stupid stuff and make huge mistakes. The important thing for me was that Jay learned from his mistakes and truly regretted his actions. He also admitted that he was wrong and apologized for his actions.

So, while this story might not be for everyone, I did enjoy it and finished it in one evening.

I can’t forget to talk about the audiobook. It was the first one I’ve listened to performed by Mark Sanderlin and I think he did a fantastic job. His voice was perfect for the age range of the characters. He is perhaps the biggest reason I enjoyed the story so much. A great narrator makes all the difference and can often make or break a book. Mark didn’t just read this book, he truly performed it.

A complimentary copy of this audiobook was provided to me at my request by the publisher but my review was voluntary and not influenced by the author and/or narrator. I also received a copy of the e-book from the publisher via NetGalley.

List obsessed, statistic loving Jay Collier finds himself to be something of an anomaly in Riverton, Washington. Out of the seventy odd kids that have moved with him from kindergarten to senior year, he's the only one out and proud: a messy queer kid with no outlet or experience, forced to live alongside (and, by his own standards, fall behind on) the dreaded list of relationship firsts. When peer pressure and teenage hormones drive him to the point of frustration, Jay puts his list-making skills to good use, resulting in the titular Gay Agenda, a list of items (artfully laid out by Jason June, as they are conceived) that Jay hopes to tackle by the end of his high school career. From meeting another queer kid to kissing a cute boy, Jay’s thought of everything: coffee shop dates, slow dancing, and losing his virginity included.

Worried that he'll spend another year alone, his classmates, including his best friend, Lu, navigating their own relationships, Jay is elated to learn of his mother's unexpected promotion - a position that will move the small family out of Riverton to Portland, a city of opportunity that promises to introduce Jay to gay culture alongside a wealth of queer kids to befriend (and possibly fall in love with): "I would no longer be the gay kid, I would just be one gay in a whole alphabet soup of LGBTQ realness."

With chapter titles mimicking Jay’s incessant (and relatable) list-making, each one a step in his unabashedly queer attempt to find love, Jason June explores the importance of found family. From the genderqueer Max, Jay’s self-proclaimed “gay guide”, to Albert, the adorable, quirky robotics nerd with a kind heart, Jay finds himself at the center of a gay vortex as he starts to check boxes, revising his personal agenda each day. From attending his first drag show, to going on his first date, things are looking up for Jay until he is introduced to Tony, a college-age VSB (code for very sexy boy) who is interested in nothing but kissing (and gaining as many notches on his belt as he can). Boy crazy and inexperienced, Jay navigates a new world: one full of potential what ifs. Easily influenced – as most teens are – Jay’s Gay Agenda becomes his life: each item a necessity to catch up with his peers, even at the cost of his own integrity.

When it comes to dating and relationships, Jason June explores teenage confusion and hormones, navigating the often messy divide between dating and hook ups. Unsure of his standing with either boy, Jay chooses both, inadvertently cheating, much to the reader’s chagrin. Despite the heartache and secondhand frustration, Jay’s plight is one a familiar one, his desire to fall in love and experience sex (and other firsts) clouding his judgement. While this in no way condones cheating, lying or manipulation, the messy nature of his relationships with others (platonic, romantic and sexual) are very much the product of outside pressure (with the idea of belonging being closely related to shared experiences).

Full of teenage angst and bad decisions, Jay’s Gay Agenda is a love letter to messy queers, outlining the disaster gay experience in a sex positive manner. Breaking down the idea of perfection, Jason June encourages teens to be true to themselves in the search for love and is perfect for fans of L.C. Rosen’s Camp and Emery Lee’s Meet Cute Diary.

3.5-4 stars

This was a coming of age book. We see Jay dreaming and fantasizing about what it would be like to be in a relationship and do all those little milestones things we all take for granted when we meet someone. He wanted to experience all the big and little things… like holding hands with someone to the really big things like… loosing your virginity.
He just wanted to experience all the different levels of it all. Being from a very small town…and the only gay person in that town. It was hard for him. He never experienced anything. He dreamed about leaving his home town. He knew that was the only way to experience it all.

So, once the opportunity came about with his mom being promoted. They got do move to a big city. Jay was so excited. He was so ready to start checking things off his Gay Agenda list. Starting a new school & joining the LGBTQIA club at his school. He finally felt at home & that his time has finally come.

“I found them,” I whispered. “I found the gays.”

I kinda felt bad for Jay. He was so trusting. So naïve about things. He hurt a lot of people without thinking how others would take his actions. The one thing he held on to for years was the one thing that hurt him. Writing down a list of things to do was one thing. How he went about to execute those those things was wrong.

I’m glad it ended the way it did. Jay learned his lesson.

“I realized the Gay Agenda was so much more. It was about connecting with another person. I’d always felt like this overlooked, sexless, invisible thing that just had to stand by while everyone else was noticed.”

If you’re looking for a coming of age kinda book. Then this is your book. I would recommend this book.

i had so much fun reading this book. I felt it was such a fun and quirky YA love story. I loved the sex positivity throughout the book.

I really loved this book! Jay's voice was so clear and specific, I felt like I knew this highly organized, list-making kid in real life. For that matter, all of the characters had very specific voices and felt like fully-realized people--including most of the adults, which isn't always the case in YA. Albert and his little band of Digimals pals, in particular, felt like the weird thrown-together-over-a-common-interest group I often found myself in in high school.

I loved June's approach to sex positivity (and not-quite-ready-for-sex positivity). I loved the exploration of Max's body dysphoria, Albert's experience with racism within the gay community, and Lu's poverty crisis. Everything just felt genuine and real and June obviously poured lots of love into his first YA novel.

1. So many of these characters are so easy to fall in love with
They all have their little quirks like Jay having the most random statistics memorized and having creative ways to avoid curse words, Albert’s robot building, Lu’s journalistic approach to life, and Max’s sass and style. I quickly fell for all of these characters and wanted to see all of them get their happy endings. On the way to that you get to watch them come of age in ways that are sometimes hilarious, sometimes

2. I really appreciate the focus on community in the story
I think most small-town queer people dream of moving to the city, or at least somewhere else, where they can escape the person they were expected to be growing up and find their people. So to see Jay get to do that in his last year of high school is so! great! Of course, he’s a horny teenage boy, so his initial focus is finding cute boys to kiss (understandable). Then on his first day he starts meeting other queer students that make him realize that this is also an opportunity to be a part of a community, that being queer is about more than just sex. Granted, that’s a significant part of it for a lot of people! But it can also be about gender and culture and found family and so many other things, and I think Jason June does a good job highlighting that.

3. In a way, it felt like everything wrapped up too cleanly for a messy book? [SPOILER]
I understand why Jay had to go on an apology tour, but why did it seem like he didn’t get all the proper apologies he deserved. Like when Max apologizes, Jay says there’s no need? Kid, yes there is! I’m mad that it focuses on Jay being sorry for not being there for Lu as much as he should have and lying to her, but not on Lu lashing out and being weird? I just think they were both in the wrong and should have both apologized.

I’m not sure it worked for me. On one hand I’m like, “Ben, it’s a romcom! Let everyone’s dreams come true!” But then I’m like, “Okay, but everything else was messy, so why can’t there be a little something that’s not totally perfect?” I don’t know. It’s not a big turn-off for me, but.

4. If you’re sensitive to infidelity narratives, this might not be the book for you
Jay gets involved with two different guys which bloom into two very different relationships, and although he doesn’t officially enter a relationship with either of them, he doesn’t tell either about the other. This naturally leads to miscommunication. Some of it is because of some bad guidance from a friend, so it’s peak teenage “I haven’t learned how to communicate yet and oops, now I’m realizing I screwed up” messiness. I understood what the plot was trying to do, and I enjoyed reading about it, but it’s certainly not for everyone. Jay isn’t trying to hurt anyone’s feelings or gain some sort of power over anyone, though. Eventually, he realizes what he did wrong and tries to fix it. So it shows that people mess up, especially when they’re new to something, and sometimes two people just need to sit down and talk about what they want out of a relationship.

5. Overall, it’s a very positive read.
A happy, upbeat vibe to it. Hilarious characters. Very sex-positive. And very accepting and affirming of these characters as people. I think I’ve already talked about the first three things there, but let me mention that I think there’s only one character that makes any sort of queerphobic comments to/around Jay? And he’s only in the first part of the story. So queerphobia is a thing in this world, of course, because it’s contemporary fiction, but it’s not in any way the main plot. So if you’re looking for a low-stakes queer romcom to chill with this June (or any of the other 11 months), JAY’S GAY AGENDA is a good one to pick up.

Until next time!

3 out of 5 stars

Jay's Gay Agenda is an interesting debut by Jason June. The premise of Jay's list of gay goals carries throughout the story, evolving as he hits milestones and influenced by the people he meets in his new town. Jay is another YA character with many flaws that I can see any high schooler in his position would have. A whole new world is opened up for him and I don't blame his lack of restraint. Relationships are tested and feelings are hurt; in the end, lessons are learned and bonds are mended.

***Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.***

I live in Seattle, so this one was a comfort read for me as reading about the city I know is fun through another's eyes. I really enjoyed the writing from this author, it was humorous and witty. This will be one I share with my teen customers. The only thing I don't like about the book is that the list is mentioned in almost every chapter, yes I get that it's the point of the book, but as a reader listening to the audio, it was hard to skip as I would visually just turn the page after noticing any changes but can't with the audio.

This book reminded me of all those "trashy" teen coming of age books for girls where the MC is boy-crazy. I'm glad the gay books now have an equivalent and lots of good morals mixed in. Definitely need to give this to an older teen.

This book was super fun!! The characters felt really fresh, especially Jay and Max. The friendships explored in this book really felt to be the core of the story. I enjoyed how Jay was managing tons of new situations at once and the absolute extreme messiness of it all felt realistic. The drama that takes place towards the tail end of the book makes way for great conversations between the characters where they are being honest and open with one another—always great to see in YA. All in all: this was a book filled with a diverse set of characters, complex friendships, sex positively throughout, and an excellent coming of age novel. Thanks Netgalley for the ARC, can’t wait to read more by the author!

Firstly, I should like to start by thanking NetGalley and HarperCollins Children's Books and HarperTeen
for providing me with an e-ARC in return for an honest review. I have to start by saying that I am rating this 5 stars but it was a 4.5 read for me. I appreciated the writing style and the honesty of Jason June. I felt that in some ways he was reliving his past. My only reason for 4.5 stars is that it started just a little slowly for me. By the 3rd or 4th chapter I was very much involved in the story and did not want to stop reading.

I don't wish to give away spoilers and neither do I wish to rewrite the story in my review. I think this should be a book that parents of LGBTQ teens and LGBTQ teens should read. Yes it is was a little sexually explicit and the plot involved cheating, lying and relationships both gay and heterosexual. I would think that for somebody living in a small community where there are few if any other gay teens this would be an encouraging read. It was charming, funny, happy, sad and taught much about the community in a rom-com novel. I laughed with Jay and his friend and I cried with them too.

I see that this book might be the first in a series and I hope that Jason Juno gets the recognition this books receives and I look forward to reading the next installment in Jay's sexual explorations and coming out. I think many will see themselves in the protagonist and his friends and it is very relatable. Jay is not perfect and neither are many of the other characters gay or straight. A great insight into how one can come back from making mistakes and learn as much about themselves as others in the process.

Thank you Jason Juno for writing this delightful book. Please let it be the first of many that you write and publish. Thank you to Harper Teen for publishing it and making the manuscript of the ARC available through NetGalley for those of who wished to review it. I shall keep it and look forward to rereading it at some point. For me it is right up there with Red, White and Royal Blue which was my favorite book of 2019. I doubt too many will be disappointed in this book as long as they are open-minded and realize that cheating and lying is a big part of life.