Alex Sanchez has a talent for heavily hinting at interesting and nonconventional endings for his novels, and then disappointing you by not going there. For example, Getting It. (view spoiler)[I understand that the annoying main character Carlos had to remain straight in order to maintain the veneer of a lesson that hanging out with gay people doesn't make you gay, but his interest in his funny, attractive gay classmate, Sal, seems romantic at times, and, gosh darn it, you want them to end up tog...

Getting It by Alex Sanchez was a quick, light read, but it had a very positive message—a message that teens as well as adults could stand to receive. Getting It revolves around the life of Carlos, a fifteen-year-old guy who comes to understand that getting something isn’t nearly as important as giving.Carlos wants a girlfriend. Bad. His buddies all brag about their latest hookups, but Carlos is a virgin, and he doesn’t see that changing anytime soon. He’s obsessed with gorgeous Roxy, but he know...

I hope that many of my male, teenage students will be open-minded enough to read this book and get out of it all they could/should. Alex Sanchez has written an incredibly realistic main character (Carlos Amoroso) who learns some of the most important lessons a teen could possibly learn, and he "gets" these lessons from his new friend, Sal, the only out gay boy at Carlos's high school. For example:"Do you think I'm a loser? Carlos blurted out, without even thinking. "My friends think I'm a loser

I've liked a lot of Alex Sanchez's books before, so I thought I'd check out this one. Didn't like it nearly as much. My biggest problem was that there was a lot of unchecked misogyny coming from Sal, and it felt like because he was gay, he was untouchable and could therefore get away with calling female characters "sluts." While there was a lot of criticism of the straight male characters' homophobia (and rightfully so), it seemed to be perfectly fine for the gay characters to spew misogynistic,...

A quick read, where the gay teenager is well adjusted and the straight teenagers need life lessons. Certainly, we all need lessons in self-esteem, boundaries, identifying and expressing feelings, and asking for what we want(want to spend time with your father? Tell him.)However, this is the sort of YA novel where fantasy is reality. When you learn to express your feeling everything works out. The character Carlos, does not get the girl of his dreams, who was sexy but not really for him, but he d...

The focus of this book is about a young man who wants to attract the prettiest girl at his school. He feels ordinary and overlooked, so he thinks if he can get the school gay guy to help him fashion-up his appearance, then he can be the perfect guy for her. By being around Sal (the gay guy), Carlos soon learns that being perfect really isn't as good as it sounds. Soon Carlos is having to decide is the perfect girl worth not being your true self with your real friends. A very real book that has c...

Very cliche and simplistic, but has a great message for a younger audience. The plot admittedly borrows from Queer Eye for the Straight Guy, and to make it clear that the idea is borrowed, Queer Eye is annoyingly referenced every other page.

The premise of the book was definately cute. As an individual who LOVED watching "Queer Eye for the Straight Guy" I loved how the main character Carlos believed that Sal, a gay student at his school, could help him gain style (much like the men from "Queer Eye") to catch the attention of his crush. If you want a quick and easy read this is a great story. However, if you want something with a little meat to it, this one leaves much to be desired. The story line is very predictable and a bit preac...

Carlos is a 15 year old low-income Mexican-American kid who’s got his heart set on a girl who is out of his league. To get her to notice him, he asks for makeover help from Sal a senior gay boy, so he can be his "Queer Eye". Sal agrees to do it if Carlos helps him start a GSA at their school. “Why are you really doing this – helping me?”“I told you,” Sal said, his voice unwavering. So you’ll help with our GSA. You’re right. There’s another reason. All through school, almost every straight guy I’...

Carlos want to get Roxy's attention but does not know how to do it. Under the impression that gays know how, thanks to Queer Eye TV series, Carlos approached gay Sal for help. This was particularly difficult for Carlos, growing up knowing that his father despise anything maricon and friends who seem to be homophobic. [return][return]In return, Sal wants Carlos to help him to set up Gay-Straight Alliance in the school. Already uncomfortable to be seen in public with Sal, this request is particula...

This book was a quick read and was really great. Two things were particularly quality from my perspective: Carlos as a believable, round, and sympathetic character (you really feel bad for him at times, get a sense of the multiple levels of his identity, but also get annoyed with him too) AND the lack of usual predictability in the plot (there are a few good turns in here that keep you guessing). I found the mix of realistic teenage language & sexual content with polite respect for the audience

At times I was put off by the amount of reckless behavior with "hooking up" and derogatory name-calling, but then again, I'm not a teenager reading this book either. Casual hooking up is part of their lives and so is homophobia, which is part of the reason I picked it up. I found the message to be strong about "getting it" as the title implies when it comes to life: how to treat yourself with respect, how to treat others with respect, how asking for things may seem hard to do, but need to be don...

Carlos has three best friends since childhood, Toro, Pulga and Playboy. He also has a crush on Roxy, one of the most popular girls in school, but he feels so ordinary and unattractive, so one day after watching a TV program called Queer Eye, he decides to gather up nerve to ask Sal, a gay guy, to help him with on how to get Roxy. As the story develops, Carlos starts changing his opinion toward his problems and his every day's life.This is the seventh book of Alex Sanchez's I've read so far, and

I tried, I really tried.But even in the first couple of chapters, the boys were just too much like the boys I spend every weekday trying to deal with. I did like the main character's interaction with his parents, and the way that his ethnicity is unavoidable (no whitewashing this character). But high school boys are high school boys, and I deal with them during the day and don't want to deal with them when I'm reading. Or at least not ordinary high school boys (apparently CHERUB is sufficiently

The premise is decent--a straight teenager gets inspired to ask a gay classmate for a makeover after watching an episode of Queer Eye--and there are some nice touches of humor and sweetness in the story. The subplots exploring the main character's relationships with his divorced parents are also quite well done.Unfortunately, there were a number of less positive elements, too. I'd have liked the book a lot more if it were a little less didactic, if the characters didn't label girls who engaged i...

I started this novel with very low expectations. The plot description didn't thrill me, but I've become a fan of Sanchez, so I gave it a chance.I'm glad I did. It turned around and surprised me, turning out to be a delightful little book. I'm not sure how I missed the double meaning of the title, but I did, which just further delighted me as I was reading. The characters were all rather enjoyable, even when they were being ***. I think what I liked most is they were very human and made mistakes

The premise of this story was original- a sloppy teenage boy watches "Queer Eye for the Straight Guy" and gets inspired to ask the gay guy at school to help him make over his life. Carlos asks, and Sal accepts- if Carlos will help him start a GSA group at school. A sensitive but funny look at today's teens- how a gay friend can affect your social circle, how friends fro the past can change, how the hook-up culture affects the dating scene. Both Carlos and Sal are great characters to carry the st...

Another fun and heartwarming (and sometimes tearjerking) story about a boy who is trying to decide who he is as he grows toward manhood. Taking a page from the show "Queer Eye for the Straight Guy," 15-year-old Carlos asks senior Sal, who is rumored to be gay, to help him become more like somebody who would date his crush, Roxy. In return Sal asks Carlos to help form a GSA (Gay-Straight Alliance) club at their school. Carlos fumbles as a friend sometimes but as he gains confidence in himself he

I'm not a teen but more teen boys should definately reed this book. There is in this book some real life lessons, carlos just doesn't get it, so he ask the gay guy in school to help him in a queer eye style make over.the hardest makeover is not on the outside, its realising the type of guy you are on the inside thats hardbut the hardest lessons you have to learn yourself, when someone gives you friendship you don't just throw it away, because you might never get it back.

The author's heart is in the right place, but I have two major problems with this book: First, it reads more like a lesson than a novel -- like something you would find on the shelf next to the Berenstain Bears. Second, by focusing on the protagonist's makeover, it perpetuates a lot of stereotypes about gay men and seems to argue that straight people should be friends with gay people because the friendship comes with perks like free advice about fashion and facial moisturizers.

I had been waiting to read this book for a couple of years now and I finally was able to read it tonight in a matter of hours. I've always liked Alex Sanchez as an author, but his honesty and insights have got to be what I appreciate the most. This is more than a story of growing up for one person, but the struggles that arise with friends going through life together.

I couldn't even finish this book. I got about 50 or so pages in and this book was just terrible. Stupid plot. Stupid characters.

Like much of Sanchez’s work, the story does not tie up LGBT issues in pretty boxes with perfect endings. I fully understand when many LGBT reviewers negatively react to certain themes and characters in Sanchez depictions, but would challenge that only to say, “are our interactions in real life not just as flawed, and in need of change for the better?” Sanchez does a great job in my opinion, of approaching LGBT topics in an educational manner toward those not necessarily in the community, or stru...

"He felt like the proverbial butterfly, about to burst from its cocoon. He wondered, though, what his caterpillar friends would say." - pg64

Funny, interesting read!

I barely remember the plot of the book. It was that forgettable.

Teen Gay subjects

This book is very amazing.

Quick little read about teenagers navigating friendships and relationships. it was warm , funny and genuine. In fact, I think more than teens trying to discover their sexuality, this book was about growing up to be genuine individuals. And for that, here are some of my favorite quotes:"It seemed like every time he asked Sal a question, the response was never what he expected" "...life isn't about what you get, it's about what you give""stop saying 'I can't' just say 'yes!' Tell the world 'I'm ho...

Another YA favourite re-read in preparation for my #romanceclassYA story. And boy, was I thankful I reread all the talks of sex in this one because for a while there, I forgot 15-year-old boys talked a lot about sex and little else. Haha!This survived the YA culling of my shelves back in February because this is one of the few LGBTQIA++ books I’ve read where the main character is a straight guy. It is about Carlos, wanting tofinally get laid and asking their school’s only out and openly gay guy,...