2014 Hub Reading Challenge discussion

It's nice to see an LGBT protagonist in a middle-grade title, though this is the very upper end of middle-grade, and maybe belongs in YA (it's currently J in my library, but I might change that). Something about this book felt a little old-fashioned to me. Nate's amazement with New York, the ET stuff, even Nate's surprise at the out-in-the-openness of the gay community in New York. I know he's supposed to be from a small town, but it seems to be suburban Pittsburgh, which is a pretty large city, so Nate's reaction just felt kind of 1980s to me. Maybe I'm being naive, and Nate, being 13 and working-class, is probably pretty sheltered. The audiobook is narrated by the author, and I thought his voice was very authentic for all of the characters, though I especially liked Nate, his friend Libby and the ET casting team. Bonus for the semi-cliffhanger ending that made me want to read Five Six Seven Nate.

I loved this book in print and can't wait to listen to it on audio. Does the author sing in it at all?

No singing unfortunately, but his voices are all really good.

Ah well, I am still totally excited to listen to this. I'm ordering for my library!

I enjoyed this title, but some things felt forced to make Nate seem younger.

Fantastic book! There were two things that I wondered about this book...
1. We have this cataloged as juvenile fiction
2. With it being JF, some of the derogatory language in it concerned me.

Other than that - I loved it! Very humorous and I loved how it touched on the subject of how a 'tween doesn't really know about their own sexuality (yet). Very refreshing! Great homage to Broadway - so if you love musicals and/or theater you'll love it too!

There was so much to like about this laugh out loud book. However, the one flaw is it's tastless references to anyone who is not white...both times that someone black is mentioned, it is in a negative way. The only time Native Americans are mentioned it is in reference to cowboys... I would rather these ethnic slurs were never included because it really limited the scope of the book and negated the message. It is so frustrating that we still have so many limitations within books in terms of acceptance and respect for everyone... I'm sure some might say that these references are minor and harmless, but these microaggressions add up and really wear on those who are not members of the white dominant culture. In addition, some might think that Federle makes fun of lots of groups...but white people are mocked because of their behaviors - never our race. not cool....

This was a fun book to listen to! I'm looking forward to reading the sequel.

Thanks for sharing your observations, Suzanne-- I'll have to give this a closer read.