Product Description

"Ever since I first heard that Lionel Richie and Diana Ross song, `Endless Love,' all I've wanted is to find The One. Someone to love. Who will love me back."

September, 1982. John Cougar's "Jack and Diane" is on endless radio rotation, and Dallas and Dynasty rule the ratings. Jack Paterno is a straight-A student living in the Detroit suburb of Hazel Park, with his own Atari 5200, a Beta VCR, and everything a seventh-grader could ask for. The only thing he has in common with foul-mouthed Brad Dayton, who lives on the gritty south side near 8 Mile, is that both are in Varsity Band. Or maybe that's not the only thing. Because Jack is discovering that while hanging around with girls in elementary school was perfectly acceptable, having lots of girl friends (as opposed to girlfriends) now is getting him and Brad labeled as Band Fags. And Jack is no fag. Is he?

As Jack and Brad make their way through junior high and then through Hazel Park High School, their friendship grows deeper and more complicated. From stealing furtive glances at Playgirl to discussing which celebrities might be like that, from navigating school cliques to dealing with crushes on girls and guys alike, Jack is trying to figure out who and what he is. He wants to find real, endless love, but he also wants to be popular and "normal." But, as Brad points out, this is real life--not a John Hughes movie. And sooner or later, Jack will have to choose.

Filled with biting wit and pitch-perfect observations, Band Fags is an exhilarating novel about lust and love, about the friendships that define and sometimes confine us, and about coming of age and coming to terms with the end of innocence and the beginning of something terrifying, thrilling, and completely unpredictable.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #89286 in Books
• Published on: 2008-06-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 352 pages

Customer Reviews

Those Glorious 80's
For those of us Gen Xer's, the 80's, a much maligned area, played a significant role in our development ... Reagan, AIDS, Madonna, Dallas, and the premiere of MTV. It's a wonder any of us survived this decade, much less thrived in it. But somehow we did, such as the characters did in Frank Polito's new book, the appropriately titled "Band Fags".

Polito takes us on a journey in what appears to be a semi-autobiographical journey through his adolescence in the Detroit suburbs. He writes about Jack, a top-notch student, lead trumpet player, and questioning homosexual, and a bevy of friends that accompany Jack through his school years. His first and foremost friend is Brad, whom he meets almost casually, but then develops a quickly close relationship that somehow only teens seem to be able to pull off. Brad, discovering his sexuality and accepting it quickly , poses an unspoken threat to Jack, who seems to exhibit signs of "gayness" but is ultimately unsure of his path. The duo form an interesting pair, and it's their story that really drives you through the book.

True to high school, Polito throws in a bevy of friends, characters that sometimes get confused, despite his attempt to clarify them through Jack reminding you of who was who. Soon, however, the important ones bubble to the surface, as Jack goes through different events that shape his social standing with the groups. As Jack reunites with a former best friend Joey, and develops a crush on him, the "am I" or "am I not?" question rears its ugly head in an all too familiar and painful way. Ditto with another guy he develops a crush on, Tom. How many of us developing homosexuals fell in love with our best friends who were straight? The pain was intense, and captured well by Polito.

The 80s feature prominently in the book, but I felt sometimes it was too much. Especially at the beginning, Polito had 80s cultural references on nearly every page. At first, it was a fun walk down memory lane, but then it became a little too much. Fortunately, Polito eases up a bit with them as he allows his story to progress. Also, not being familiar with suburban Detroit, Polito's insistence on including driving routes around the area, and specific place names, made the reading drag a bit; although I imagine that people from that area love that aspect!

Overall, Band Fags was a easy, and very enjoyable read. You find yourself rooting for Jack, even in his less positive moments, because overall, anyone who was gay has been in his situation before. And as you turn the last page of the book, you find yourself wondering what happened to Jack in college ... and what happened to Brad ... and you realize this book is absolutely begging for a sequel.

Band Fags of the world unite!
Hilarious and angst-ridden, "Band Fags" is a wonderful trip down memory lane for those of us who came of age in the eighties, sort of a gay version of that fantastic television show Freaks and Geeks - The Complete Series. Especially if you came out and enjoyed / endured high school band - and the stigma that goes along with it, you'll love this. Am I, or am I not? All the intense soul-searching - Frank captures it in a funny way, with wit and charm. He's also a superb writer and I whipped through the pages in mere hours, wanting "Jack" to hurry up and make the right choice! Whether you were a teen in the eighties, the sixties or the two thousands, you'll relate to these emotions, as they're universal. Read and be entertained.
Rich Merritt, author of Code of Conduct and Secrets Of A Gay Marine Porn Star

From One Band Fag to Another
I may be a little biased. I was born in suburbs of Detroit in which this book is set, I'm 3-years older than the main character, I really really didn't want to be gay in high school and I was a band fag.

All disclaimers aside, this is a well written coming of age story set in the mid-80's in suburban Michigan. The two main characters, Jack and Brad, are best friends throughout the story as only school age friends can be - Sometimes they are inseparable, sometimes the fight and sometimes they flirt with intimacy. They both come to terms with being gay in an era that was not all that welcoming to gay people. And they do it in very different ways but in the end are still friends.

The book is written in a voice that is youthful, funny and with the correct slang as extra flavor.

I bought it as a recommendation off my kindle after thinking, from the cover and the title, that is was just another silly coming of age novel by yet another gay guy. And it is all that but it's much more. It's well written, it's not preachy and it's really a lot of fun.

Kinda makes me want to look up some of my old friends from high school.