Social Intercourse

Written by Greg Howard

Narrated by Michael Crouch and Will Damron

Beckett Gaines, a gay teen living in South Carolina, has his world turned upside-down by a jock in this laugh-out-loud novel that’s Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda meets The Parent Trap.

Beck:
The Golden Girls-loving, out-and-proud choir nerd growing up in the “ass-crack of the Bible belt.”

Jax:
The Golden Boy, star quarterback with a slick veneer facing uncomfortable truths about himself and his past.

When Beck’s emotionally fragile dad starts dating the recently single (and supposedly lesbian) mom of former bully, Jaxon Parker, Beck is not having it. Jax isn’t happy about the situation either, holding out hope that his moms will reunite and restore the only stable home he’s ever known. Putting aside past differences, the boys plot to derail the budding romance between their parents at their conservative hometown’s first-ever Rainbow Prom. Hearts will be broken, new romance will bloom, but nothing will go down the way Beck and Jax have planned.

In his hilarious and provocative debut, Greg Howard examines the challenges of growing up different in a small southern town through the lens of colorful and unforgettable characters who stay with you long after the last drop of sweet tea.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Brilliance Audio
• Release date: Oct 16, 2018
• ISBN: 9781721340620

Greg Howard

Greg Howard was born and raised in the South Carolina Lowcountry, where his love of words and stories blossomed at a young age. Originally set on becoming a songwriter, Greg followed that dream to the bright lights of Nashville, Tennessee, and spent years producing the music of others before eventually returning to his childhood passion of writing stories. Greg writes YA and middle grade novels focusing on LGBTQ characters and issues. He has an unhealthy obsession with Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups and currently resides in Nashville with his three rescued fur babies—Molly, Toby, and Riley.

Reviews for Social Intercourse

[Crystal · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

The first book I listened to that made me laugh out loud. Funny high school love

[AFRODITI TSICHOURIDOU · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Such a sweet story and the narrators made a great job!

[Kelly Izell · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This was great!! It could easily be made into a movie, and it would make a fantastic one. It has “Love, Simon” vibes somehow. The narrators did a fantastic job as well. I could see the scene unfolding in my head; I love it when that happens! Five stars all around **clap clap clap**

[Nikolett Kosa · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

worst book i listened to lately, the first five chapters were so bad, they deserve the 1 star. beck is the most despicable main character i read lately. was excited to listen to it but now i’m just disappointed.

[Milton Justice · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Delightful. Better than most. Great readers who help with some nice surprises.

[Paula Blanco · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Thoroughly enjoyable, you can tell this book was written by a gay man, because only someone who truly understands what it means to be gay could have written the story this well. It's laugh out loud funny, cringe worthy at times, down right sexy in places, and overall very heartwarming. I like that it deals with complicated themes like women leaving a 20 year old lesbian relationship in favour of being with a man etc. The ending was predictable, though a satisfying one. I honestly loved this book, I'm sure I will re-read again soon ❤️

[Brooke Lange · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I don’t know what it was that I loved so much about this but I listened to it in almost one sitting. I think it was partly that Beckett was so comfortable with himself, but I know Shelby was also a huge part of it. There was a lot of laugh out loud moments but it was the beautiful weirdness of the conversations between Beckett and Shelby that I think I loved the most. The performance of Shelbys speaking moments were so perfect they were hilarious. All in all it was just a great, funny book.

[fastforward-46127 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

There were a few things about the book that I wasn't thrilled about but overall I enjoyed this YA novel featuring lgbt characters. Teenage boy Beck loves watching The Golden Girls with his straight and single dad. Being out and proud isn't very easy when you live in a conservative Southern town. Jaxon, is the star athlete at his high school and his two mothers have recently split up. When Beck's father and Jaxon's mother, Tracee, start dating, neither boy is very happy about it. They set out to break up the relationship but nothing seems to go according to plan.I absolutely loved the chemistry between the two boys. And I do like the message of the book which was love who you love and don't worry about labels. While the book tackled lgbt issues there were also other topics brought up including divorce and adoption. I do think the author was overly ambitious and tried too hard to include every single issue a lgbt teen might face. The weakest part was the story line involving the pastor as it just didn't seem to fit in as well with everything else.There are definitely some things about this book that were hard to read. Beck in particular was very hard to like at times as he was very shallow and misogynistic. I guess you can decide for yourself if it was a realistic depiction of a teenager or he was just a jerk. At the very least there did appear to be some growth by him by the end of the book. I also wasn't a big fan of Tracee and some of the things she said about her son to other people and the scene where she is waiting in Beck's bedroom is a complete wtf moment.This is the type of book that I would love to hear more from the author about the writing process and it would make an excellent book club selection because I think everyone is going to take away something different. It's also one of the few books in which I would love for there to be a sequel as I felt very invested in the characters by the end and would love to see what the future holds for the both of them.I won a free copy of this book from a ShelfAwareness giveaway but I was under no obligation to post a review. All views expressed are my honest opinion.