It’s Our Prom (So Deal With It)

Julie Anne Peters

I was so excited about this book coming out that I bought a hard copy. And then I got a hand signed book plate by Julie Anne Peters! Squee! There are few things I would get even vaguely fan-girl-y about, but this is one of them for sure.

Sadly, the book was a bit different to the others Peters has written, and I wasn’t as convinced by the characters as I usually am. This novel used the technique of splitting between Azure (a lesbian) and Luke (a bisexual) for perspective.

I liked Azure, and felt more in common with her. However, I didn’t get the same sense of her being super chatty from within her perspective as I did from Luke. Sometimes it seemed like she was a totally different person. Her relationship with her dad though was a very positive one, as was her pespective on not judging others (most of the time).

Luke was a character of contradictions for me. He seemed like he was very flamboyant, and that was why his brother hated him so much, but then it wasn’t all that clear because his brother did care in a strange way. And then there was his crush on Radhika, but then his play and everything at the same time. Not to mention it seemed like he never did homework!

Now to the storyline (a bit back to front I know). One word and one person: Prom, Radhika. Both Azure and Luke want to go to the prom with Radhika, but she doesn’t like either of them in that way (or does she), given that they have been friends for forever! I think I read somewhere that originally Radhika had a perspective as well, but that this was then removed from the book. A pity, I would have liked to hear a bit more from her.

The end of the novel was altogether too happy for my liking. Others who love that kind of ending will probably be satisfied though. The same goes for the school settings they find themselves in – it is amazing that everyone is so diverse and accepting. It’s not something that has happened in Australia yet as far as I can tell, but I’d love to see a real high school in the US that has it.

I could have given this book three stars, but then reconsidered up to four. I didn’t hate it, and it’s probably not a desperate reread for me in the same way that Keeping You a Secret is, but it was reassuring to read it.