Awards and Honors
A Bookspan Book Club Main Selection!
A Book Sense 76 Pick!
An ALA "Popular Paperback"!
An ALA "Rainbow List" Pick!
A TeenReads.com "Best of 2005"!
A BookLoons "Best of 2005"!
A Gaywired.com "Best of 2005"!
A "Teen Squared" Best Book of 2005!!
A BiMagazine "Must Read" Book!
A Bookslut.com Holiday Pick!
A "Mostly Fiction" Top Novel of 2005!
A YALSA "Teen Top Ten" Nominee!
A Maryland Library "Great Book"!
Reviews
"[When I finished the book], I was sniffling and my eyes were moist:
It's what's meant by the phrase 'being moved to tears.'...the book
is beautifully written, authentic-sounding and smart....all the
right traditional values are underscored: honesty, cleverness, generosity,
trust."
-- Philadelphia Inquirer
"No matter your sexuality, there's a lot to learn from funny, frank
Russel. Brent Hartinger's writing is beautiful and emotional, but
it always feels real, never sappy or didactic. Russel has grown
since Geography Club (which you don't have to read
before this book, but you should), and his voice, while still true
to a teenage boy, has a new sense of honesty. The love scenes are
very tasteful but definitely hot...As Russel discovers beauty in
the last place he thought he'd find it, you should discover this
beauty of a book. Immediately."
-- TeenReads.com
"Superb. 5Q (Highest Rating)"
-- VOYA
"A touching and realistic portrait of gay teens. The characters
are three-dimensional, and Russell narrates in a perfect teen patois
that is often hilarious. Teens--gay and straight--will connect."
-- Kirkus Reviews
"Hartinger is a master at crafting a high school settting,
and Russel, Min, Gunnar and all the rest are just great characters...A
brave, bold book."
-- Bookslut.com
"Hartinger just gets better and better with each book...It is a
delightful book, well written, with depth and thought, as well a
darn good storytelling. It is definitely one of the best books of
the year."
-- Genrefluent.com
"This storyline could have easily become maudlin and sappy, but
he kept it crisp and authentic...While his books are aimed primarily
at a teen audience, kids of all ages will love his realistic and
relatable tales of teenaged angst...Must read. (Highest Rating)"
-- Mogenic.com
"Hartinger [is one of the] big success stories in YA lit."
-- The Advocate
"Hartinger has created the perfect narrator in Russel Middlebrook
– he is open, he is honest, and he is real. (Highest Rating)"
-- BookLoons.com
"Lest any of this sounds angst-ridden, it's all leavened by
Russel's chatty, sometimes sarcastic, sometimes enthusiastic teen
voice. He addresses the reader like one teen telling his story to
another, lending the story an immediacy and sense of reality, and
his observations can be funny as well as refreshingly honest."
-- Kliatt
"The story transcends queer kid romance angst...The Order of the Poison Oak, with its easygoing
emphasis on the virtue of tolerance and the
value of friendship, is a well-pitched novel for teen readers -
but one that
will appeal to grownups with a yen for intelligent, humorous coming-of-age
fiction."
-- Richard Labonte's Book Marks
"A delight...funny, touching...With this third novel from Brent
Hartinger, I can see that he is an author who is only becoming more
accomplished. (Highest Rating)"
-- Midwest Book Review
"[An] honest, tender, funny
first person narrative."
-- Booklist
"Although this is technically a young-adult book, Hartinger’s
storytelling gifts make it a worthy read for anyone...We all should
have been lucky enough to have a pal like Russel."
-- Sacramento News & Review
