Fan Art by Sarah Tregay (review)

When Jamie first asks Eden to the prom, he doesn’t realize that she is a lesbian, but it doesn’t really matter anyway, since he’s recently realized that he has fallen hopelessly head-over-heels for his best friend, Mason. This is evident to nearly everyone else in the senior class, despite the fact that Jamie, while out to his family, remains in the closet at school in fear of losing Mason. As Jamie grows closer (platonically, of course) to Eden, he also confronts homophobia when a graphic short story he illustrates and submits for the school literary magazine is rejected by the editorial staff as too controversial; he skirts their authority to publish it anyway, in effect outing himself and summoning the wrath of school administration. There aren’t any surprises where this is going, and the will-they/won’t-they plot between Jamie and Mason drags on too long in increasing unbelievability until graduation day, where a cruel prank leads finally to their first kiss. Jamie’s obliviousness to Mason’s signals that he might also be gay stretches reader credulity, and the overall achingly romantic tone will either be cheerfully lapped up or laughed at (“He smells like Speed Stick, shampoo, and all I’ve ever wanted”). Nevertheless, Jamie’s angst in spite of being well-liked—understandable in a small Idaho city, even one with a GSA—and Mason’s troubles with his womanizing Mexican father add depth. Additionally, the implication that the J/ason pairing is ’shipped by Eden and her “art geek girl” pals is treated both with obligatory glee and the implication that dabbling in real people’s lives has real consequences. Fans of cotton-candy romance will overlook the contrivance to find exactly what they dreamed wrapped up in a chaste but messy bow. Final art not seen.