From Behind Those Eyes

I loved how Stephen’s self-acceptance was slow and gradual. First, he was able to come out to Jesse and enter a relationship with him. Then, he came out to each of his friends individually in his circle. Finally, by the end of the story, he was ready to be out and proud of who he is.

Stephen has some great monologues! Probably the best one, in my opinion, is where he talks about how Jesse developed from someone who he simply found attractive to someone he is now in love with.

Tim is a bigoted ass, but Stephen still thinks of him as his teammate, so he extends an olive branch to him (“see you on the field”) despite all the shitty things that he said.

Nitpick: There’s a scene in Chapter 18 where Bobby, Tim, Sean, and Stephen are arguing in the school cafeteria, and Stephen walks away in frustration. Despite the story taking place from his point of view, the scene continues as if he was there to witness it. I thought that perhaps Stephen could’ve overheard the conversation, but Bobby later recounts what happened to him in art class, implying that Stephen didn’t witness or overhear it at all.

Justin, Jesse’s former best friend, shares a name with Justin, Stephen’s teammate. I’m like 95% sure these two aren’t the same person, so I think it would’ve been best if they had different names to avoid confusion.

Damn, Stephen must’ve had some gigantic balls to say “I love you, Jesse” in front of everyone at the assembly.

Wilson is an interesting enigma… I think Robert might’ve been (or currently is) his partner. If so, perhaps they went through something similar to Stephen and Jesse? Would explain why he had such a visceral reaction to Tim’s antics.