Product Description

Russel Middlebrook needs to get away. It's tough being sixteen and out at your high school. So being a summer camp counselor sounds like the perfect solution -- but Russel has no idea how crazy this summer will be. Rowdy ten-year-old burn survivors, Indian legends, moonlit skinny dipping, and passionate summer romance are just the beginning . . . and then there's the new secret society, the Order of the Poison Oak.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #715422 in Books
• Published on: 2006-02-01
• Released on: 2006-01-31
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 240 pages

From School Library Journal
Grade 8 Up–Sixteen-year-old Russel Middlebrook hopes to escape his identity as the token gay guy at school by spending the summer as a counselor in a camp for burn victims. At first he finds that controlling eight hyperactive, 10-year-old hellions is grueling, but once he charms them with a retelling of a fable based on Native American legend in which a multicolored crow is burnt black by fire, he has no trouble taming them. And with their cooperation and enthusiasm, he creates the Order of the Poison Oak, a special club dedicated to outcasts of all types. With its titillating cover, high dramatics, and steamy romance triangles, Hartinger's novel will definitely score big with teens hankering for a sequel to Geography Club (HarperCollins, 2003). But even with improved characterizations and fast pacing, it's not enough to cloak the author's less-than-subtle attempt at equating burn-scar victims with victims of homophobic bigotry and prejudice. Unfortunately, this well-intended yet domineering metaphor smothers many of the novel's better elements, and ultimately will render more groans than shouts of triumph from its readers.–Hillias J. Martin, New York Public Library
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist
Gr. 7-10. In this sequel to Geography Club (2003), 16-year-old Russel, now openly gay and tired of being the freak at school, tries to escape as a counselor in a rural summer camp with his two best friends. The camp kids are 10-year-old burn survivors, scarred and disfigured, and Russel identifies with them. They also have fun together, once he stops seeing them as "all nervous and noble." But Russel fights with his friends, especially after discovering that he and bisexual Min are attracted to the same gorgeous counselor guy--who tries to have unprotected sex with each of them. There's too much metaphor and message, including the stories Russel tells the kids about raging fires, hidden beauty, and developing toughness. What readers will like best is the honest, tender, funny, first-person narrative that brings close what it's like to have a crush and hate a friend. In one unforgettable scene, some teenagers call the scarred kids freaks, and to his lasting shame, Russel says nothing. Hazel Rochman
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Review
" … a nice change from more angst-ridden stories of young gay relationships." -- Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books

"Honest, tender, funny, first-person narrative." -- ALA Booklist

"This is a funny, touching novel … a book that stays with you long after you’ve finished it.…" -- Midwest Book Review

"…Hartinger’s novel will definitely score big with teens hankering for a sequel to Geography Club…" -- School Library Journal

A touching and realistic portrait of gay teens.... Hilarious. Teens--gay and straight--will connect -- Kirkus Reviews, January 15, 2005

Beautiful and emotional... The love scenes are tasteful but definitely hot... Discover this beauty of a book. Immediately. -- TeenReads.com, March 2005

Beautifully written, authentic sounding, and smart...I was sniffing and my eyes were moist...moved to tears. -- Philadelphia Inquirer, April 20, 2005

Superb. 5Q (highest rating) -- VOYA

Technically a young adult book, Hartinger's storytelling gifts make it a worthy read for anyone. -- Sacramento News & Review, May 12, 2005

Customer Reviews

A Book For All Teens
Brent Hartinger is funny and tender and real. Although this book (and his others) feature a gay teen, ALL teents and adults who like to read young adult books should read him. No matter your sexual prefernce, you will appreciate his messages of acceptance and understanding and his great writing.

The best gay themed book...ever
I am a huge fan of Geography Club, the previous book by Brent Hartinger involving gay teen Russell, so when I heard there was going to be a sequel I was really worried(especially since it had the title Order of The Poison Oak, sorry Brent sounded a lil corny), however as I read my copy which I purchased from amazon.com wink wink, I soon realized it was even better than Geography Club. The characters and events just draw you in, and the part when Russell finally has someone look at him in the way that Peppermint Patty looked at the red haired girl, brought tears to my eyes. But this book, even if you are not gay, you will relate to how hard it is growing up and you will be smiling when you finish the book.

P.S. To Brent: Thanks for not including Kevin in this book!

Mesmerizing and edgy look at life at a Summer Camp
I loved "The Geography Club," so I had trepidations when I eagerly snatched up the sequel. But they were quickly short-lived as I quickly got involved in the machinations of Russel, Min and Gunnar at a summer camp.

This sequel is a rarity in that the main character actually grows in a new direction from the previous book. Usually, the character just seems to go through the exact same journey. But we see Russel grapple with the whys and hows of expanding his romantic horizons and himself into the outside world from the confines of high school. His relationship with a caddish counselor is very compelling as is Gunnar's journey towards FINALLY getting a girlfriend.

It's a real story well-told. Fast, funny and touching.