What’s worse than coming back from a summer long program to find that your two best friends have all kinds of inside jokes? Finding out they’re dating — and that you might be gay, too.

The Bermudez Triangle, by Maureen Johnson

In The Bermudez Triangle by Maureen Johnson, Nina’s best friends Mel and Avery start dating, posing all kinds of questions: Is Nina gay, too? Do they have crushes on her? Is she homophobic for feeling weird that they’re dating?

The book explores the relationship between the three best friends, dubbed the Triangle by a childhood acquaintance. I liked that it was open ended; rather than focusing on what happens to them as individuals, the book concentrates on their friendship and the effects of sexuality and dating on that friendship — while focusing on their other, individual problems.

There were a few parts that stood out the most to me. I won’t spoil what exactly happened, but if you’ve read the book, you’ll know what I’m talking about. If you haven’t, what are you waiting for? Are you a Freaking Bookworm or what?

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On pages 130 and 131, Nina feels left out because Mel and Avery have a date, and she isn’t invited. I think most people can relate to feeling excluded because two of your friends are dating.

When Mel’s father holds her on page 331 because of the conversation she has with her mother, I simultaneously felt awful for Mel but loved her father so much for being there for her.

Maureen Johnson has a way of incorporating her own personal sense of humor into the narration of her stories, and on page 335 she makes the BEST Seventh Heaven reference/joke EVER. (Man, how I hated that show.)

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Another thing I loved about this book was the rich teenage “indie scene” culture. The characters hang out at coffee shops, play in disorganized garage bands, wear thrift shop clothing, and aspire to save the world and go to music school. (Speaking of saving the world, I so hated Steve. I don’t know why, but I also hated the main love interest in Suite Scarlett. I guess Maureen Johnson and I don’t have the same taste in men — or at least, mine is different from her leading ladies’.) The world that the characters lived in seemed so real. Maureen Johnson definitely has a knack for that, and is quickly becoming one of my favorite authors.

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So, that’s one book down out of at least four for the GLBT Challenge 2010. To jog your memory, I’m going to read at least four LGBT-themed works of fiction throughout the year. If you have a book you’d like me to read, leave a comment and let me know!

If you read The Bermudez Triangle, let me know what you thought of it. Leave a comment and answer some of the following questions:

1. What was your favorite part? Your least favorite part?
2. Who was your favorite character? Why?
3. Did you think that Nina could have acted differently when she first found out that Avery and Mel were dating?
4. Did you like Steve?

PS: I found a list of what other people doing the challenge have read so far.

PSS: I’m currently reading Fray, a graphic novel by Joss Whedon, set in the Buffyverse two-hundred years after Buffy and Faith. I’m also reading the second Wormwood graphic novel, so you can expect a couple new graphic novel reviews very soon!

The Bermudez Triangle, by Maureen Johnson

So now that it is officially 2010 and I have fallen in love with Maureen Johnson, it’s time to kick off GLBT Challenge 2010!

The challenge is to read at least four LGBT books this year. My plan is to start with four, then to see if I can do eight. (My main problem is coming up with titles. I just added Tipping the Velvet to my list, which makes two whole LGBT books on my list. This is bad.)

The first book on my list is The Bermudez Triangle. It’s about three best girl friends who are entering their senior year of high school. While one of the three is away at a summer program at a university, the other two start dating. It looks as though it will deal with a few issues:

• Coming of age and choosing a post-high school path
• Feeling left out of the loop
• LGBT acceptance
• Sexual identity
• Friendship

In high school, I discovered that there was an actual word to describe my sexuality, and that I wasn’t the only bisexual person on the planet. I attended what we dubbed Gay Group and learned a lot of things about myself. Although I have found my soulmate in a dude, I can still appreciate a hot chick. And I can definitely appreciate a book that explores these issues. High school was so freaking confusing.

As a sidenote, I’ve been meaning to start including questions with my posts. So here are some pre-reading questions for ya, if you’re planning on reading along. (Or if you’ve already read The Bermudez Triangle and can remember what you were thinking before reading it.)

1. Have you ever had two best friends who started dating each other? How did you feel about it?
2. Do you think Nina will be initially accepting of Avery and Mel dating?

Leave a comment with your responses!

PS: If you’ve joined the Freaking Bookworm Facebook Page, come join the LGBT book discussion!