Name: Wes Michaud's review of Jay's Gay Agenda by Jason June
Item: Jay's Gay Agenda
Rating: 4
Author: Wes Michaud

Jason June

From debut novelist Jason June comes a moving and hilarious sex-positive teen rom-com about the complexities of first loves, first hookups, and first heartbreaks—and how to stay true to yourself while embracing what you never saw coming, that’s perfect for fans of Sandhya Menon and Becky Albertalli. There’s one thing Jay Collier knows for sure—he’s a statistical anomaly as the only out gay kid in his small rural Washington town. While all his friends can’t stop talking about their heterosexual hookups and relationships, Jay can only dream of his own firsts, compiling a romance to-do list of all the things he hopes to one day experience—his Gay Agenda. Then, against all odds, Jay’s family moves to Seattle and he starts his senior year at a new high school with a thriving LGBTQIA+ community. For the first time ever, Jay feels like he’s found where he truly belongs. But as Jay begins crossing items off his list, he’ll soon be torn between his heart and his hormones, his old friends and his new ones . . . because after all, life and love don’t always go according to plan.

Jay's Gay Agenda

From debut novelist Jason June comes a moving and hilarious sex-positive teen rom-com about the complexities of first loves, first hookups, and first heartbreaks--and how to stay true to yourself while embracing what you never saw coming, that's perfect for fans of Sandhya Menon and Becky Albertalli. There's one thing Jay Collier knows for sure--he's a statistical anomaly as the only out gay kid in his small rural Washington town. While all his friends can't stop talking about their heterosexual hookups and relationships, Jay can only dream of his own firsts, compiling a romance to-do list of all the things he hopes to one day experience--his Gay Agenda. Then, against all odds, Jay's family moves to Seattle and he starts his senior year at a new high school with a thriving LGBTQIA+ community. For the first time ever, Jay feels like he's found where he truly belongs. But as Jay begins crossing items off his list, he'll soon be torn between his heart and his hormones, his old friends and his new ones . . . because after all, life and love don't always go according to plan.

Wes Michaud

*4.5* super cute quick read and a great way to end off the summer perfectly describes what it's like to be a teen in a new place and make new friends

Bria

jay was too messy for my liking but it's not a bad book

A beautiful coming of age novel about teens who are finding themselves. A great, easy and quick read. Everyone needs an agenda, right?

Nic Coates

Nora de Jong

Alex

Very fun book, I like the way it made me frustrated with the main character bc of his decesions, the ending was nice but I rlly wanted more!!!!! 
Read trough it in a day, very nice

3,75
This book hit right in the feels🥺 I laughed, I groaned, I sighed and I facepalmed reading this book! Jay is such a sweet soul, but damn he had his pedal to the metal! He was in such a hurry, that he didn’t get to enjoy any of it. I can’t wait to read what dumb things he’ll do in the next one 🏳️‍🌈😍

Lukas Ellerbrook

Here’s the thing, I actually really loved this book. You’re probably thinking ”Lukas then why didn’t you rate it 5 stars but here’s why:

I get that the main character is from a small town but why did you have to make him say “frack” the whole book. Every time I saw it come across the page I just cringed. Some of the lingo was a little cringey as well like the use of “Ohmigawd”.

But the story itself is so cute. He’s just a little gay boy who wants to lose his virginity and just discover what it means to be gay. I loved that it had so many pop culture references.

This would be an auto read author for me

Emi Gilmore 

I was looking forward to a cute, sex-positive book about a boy finding himself in a big city but what I got was an 18-going-on-12-year-old boy who lied constantly, for no reason, to all of his friends (as well as cheated on them :/) and then he had the audacity to wonder why they were all mad at him in the end. 

There was some positives about this book, including LGBTQ+ representation and um, I'm sure there's other stuff. There really isn't that many positives. I'd take the time to make a list, but considering 99% of this book was just Jay making lists, I honestly hope I never see a list again. 

Jay's entire personality trait was the fact that he wanted a boyfriend and/or dick. I mean, it's fine to want to be in a relationship and/ordick. There is nothing wrong with that. But if that's your entire personality, then there might need to be some stuff you have to work through first, or the situation is just going to end up badly. The relationships in this book is 100% an example of this and I hated it. You should be in a relationship because you feel like you want to be in one, not that you need to be in one. 

Every other sentence was a joke that tried way too hard and fell flat or a pop-culture reference that will be irrelevant in two years. Jay kept on making lists for every little thing, which is fine until they show up on every other page. I literally had to hold myself back from ripping one of the lists completely out of the book. They became so annoying. 

I can't. This book was not it. I ended up skimming through most of it and read the entire thing in an hour and a half. That is an hour and a half I will never be getting back.

Maegan Kennedy

Rating: 4.75 ⭐️

Thank you to the publisher for gifting me an arc via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. 

How do I writer this review without giving away spoilers because I think everyone needs to read this book and experience the love and heartbreak for themselves. 

Jay has never had the opportunity to form a relationship in his small town, so when he moves to Seattle, he’s in the prime place to find romance a cross off things off his Gay Agenda. With the help of some fellow gays along the way, Jay will come to understand the importance of friendship in the world of romance. 

I loved Jay’s story so much. His self discovery of what he is looking for in a relationship is relatable. He wants to make connections to the people around him, ones that he didn’t have the opportunity to form back in his small town. His relationship with Max is incredibly adorable. Max, Jay’s Gay Guide, helps him cross off items from his Gay Agenda and opens his eyes to the world of the queer. But it’s not a one-sided relationship. Jay is also there for Max as he deals with a harsh breakup only a month before Jay moves there. I absolutely adored their friendship and I love that Jay was still able to have that “gay best friend” who helped him figure out who he is. 

The relationships in this story are so relatable to so many teens whether lgbtq or straight. I feel as though all people in relationship face those hiccups that can make or break the couple and we get to see how Jay navigates these hiccups in his own way. The heartbreak and betrayal was hard to read but it’s very relatable and Jay’s way of overcoming the betrayal was written amazingly.

Jay’s Gay Agenda, out now, is a perfect read for those who are also trying to find where they belong in the world. So many people could connect to Jay and his friends. I highly recommend picking this one up!

Flavia Louise

Caitlin Snyder

I can see why people get frustrated with this book but I definitely don't think it deserves the hate. It's a great book about imperfect people and definitely is very high school (in a good way).

Tatiana Alvarez 

Jay’s Gay agenda was exactly the coming of age story I needed in this moment. I found myself unable to put it down!

After living in a small town most of his life where Jay was the only gay kid, he learns his mother got a new job and they will be moving to Seattle. Instead of upsetting him, Jay is thrilled to move to Seattle for his senior year where he could meet other queer people! Bring a list maker, Jay immediately begins to reflect back on items he wants to cross off in his new home. 

Enlisting the help of his first friend Max, they make a pack that Jay will be able to cross off all items on his list. Exposed to more boys than he can handle and moving further and further away from his best friend back in his small town, Jay soon learns that keeping the truth from those you care about will only lead in heartache. 

It’s time to come to terms with his wrongs and began to make them right. 

This book yall was so cute! The author’s writing is fantastic and I felt as if I was having a conversation with Jay the entire book. I loved how quirky and excitable he was. He reminded me of a golden retriever. Honestly I could have read 300 more pages. 

I wasn’t the biggest fan of Lu, I do think she was manipulative and didn’t quite deserve Jay, but that is a minor detail. Overall, I loved this book so much!

Gabriel Noel 

ARC given by Edelweiss+ for Honest Review

Heartfelt queer story about firsts and friendships.

Lot's of overplayed tropes but still a sweet story. This isn't something new and groundbreaking but it's a wonderful read for anyone who loves queer found family and redemption arcs.

I wish Max had made more of an appearance at the end.

Tânia Borges

** spoiler alert **
           If y'all want to read this book please be aware that it contains: 
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mentions of past cheating (serial cheater actually has literal notches/tallies to keep a track) and actual cheating (with the main character - unbeknownst to him, but still); and sexual content, including both conversations and actual sex (both very light, not graphic and/or descriptive at all).

The cheating bit is the main reason why I'm giving this book a rating lower than 4 stars, and only because the main character blatantly lied about it. It's fine if it was discussed with the main love interest (even though they weren't exclusive, I feel like the decent thing to do would be to be clear about where you stand in relationships from the start: if you want to see other people while dating, actually discuss the topic with the people you're dating to see if you're all comfortable with it first. If not, either find a solution that works for you, or go on your separate ways. But that too is just my own personal opinion. I have no hate towards the story or the author at all, I thought the main romance was adorable and the overall plot enjoyable and fun to read. It's just the cheating that made me, personally, uncomfortable. If it's not something that bothers you, I totally recommend it.

Candyce Kirk

Mariana Afonso

3.75 🌟❤️
THIS WAS SO WHOLESOME

I laughed and smiled so much in this book

It’s so ‘fracking’ cute

Sexuality is talked about in such a positive free of judgment way, the gay representation not focused on the trauma, friendship and love - it’s all so beautiful!

Juliana Callahan

3.5 stars, I really enjoyed this but I really didn't like a certain subplot. I thought Jay had a decent amount of character growth but I'd be lying if I didn't say I found the book to be repetitive. I would still recommend it though if you wanted a quick romance.

Alejandra Bran

I really enjoyed this book. I'm not gonna lie and I skimmed through some reviews right before and I was surprised of how a lot of people were not happy with it.

I listened to the audiobook so I have no comments when it comes to the writing since I really liked the narration. I'm not gonna lie and there where really cringey parts, but hey I cringe all the time when I think about my teenage years, so it felt pretty accurate to me.

What I like the most about this story is how it feels very "Adolescent" and transported me back to "bachillerato" (=High School in US) times. I struggled (and even now I still do) to find my place, to feel like you don't fit in and the want to belong to a group of people like me or accepts me as I am. 

I love the fact that Jay is not a goody two shoes character, one that will only make the best choices to not hurt anyone and live his best life. You can tell that he is not a bad person, he just made poor decisions (Like many people in the world do), but he was able to accept his fault and find a way to fix it, and to me that is what life it's about. 

This is a good addition for a contemporary YA. It teaches you to learn from your mistakes and to find yourself in the process.

Cody

** spoiler alert **
           “At this stage in your life, you’re supposed to be finding out who you are.” 

I’ve been looking forward to Jay’s Gay Agenda for M O N T H S! As soon as I saw the cover, I KNEW I had to have it (insert *gimme* gif here). 

Let me start off by saying it makes my heart SO happy to know there are diverse LGBTQ+ sex-positive novels being published. Oh, to have this kind of media when I was a teenager! And this story, the story of being open and being able to explore without judgment... it’s a beautiful thing! 

The characters are fantastic, and you can’t help but love Jay and Max, and Albert is just a little too perfect (which means you love him and want him to be real). All of the little hints towards Jay’s love of statistics kept me smiling throughout the story; I love when a characters quirks are ingrained throughout and make you feel like you’ve really gotten to know the protagonist! 

Although the characters were great and the story was good, it wasn’t as exciting as I had hoped for. It’s still a great read, and I would recommend it in a heartbeat! But it’s not something new. It’s a story many of us have read before that features new characters. 

Overall, it was a win! There were some plot points that had me pulling my hair in frustration, but that can sometimes be a good thing (depending on who you are as a reader). Plus, you may love the plot points that irritated me! Personal preferences are a thing, you know. 😉 I will say this: you definitely want to grab it when it comes out this summer!

Kate

This book was filled with so many messy mistakes on the MC's behalf, mistakes that if I'm honest, I struggle to get onboard with (e.g. cheating and lying). However, they're the messy mistakes of a teenage boy caught up in the throws of being able to explore his sexuality for the first time and whilst they're majorly crappy mistakes that understandably hurt people, they may not be entirely unrealistic for someone in Jay's position. I was relieved to see that said mistakes were also called out and apologised for. 

Was this perfect? No.
Was it frustrating? Yes.
Was it entertaining? Also yes.

Overall, this was an incredibly messy yet sex positive coming-of-age story filled with mistakes, drama, adorableness and scenes that kind of made me want to tear my hair out with frustration. But I enjoyed it nevertheless and whilst I didn't *love* this story, I did enjoy the writing style and character creation, so I can't wait to see what Jason June writes next. 

Also would 10/10 recommend the audiobook if you're thinking of picking this up, the narrator was fab!

May &
Jay's Gay Agenda by Jason June

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