The Screwed-Up Life of Charlie the Second

A gay Lutheran teen, Charles James Stewart II (aka “Smart-ass”) chronicles a very memorable senior year at South High in Crystal Lake, Ill. Named after his aspiring state's attorney dad (whom he calls “First”), Charlie uses journal entries to chart his feelings with typical teen angst: griping about his parents, describing his unrequited passion for straight friend Bink Binkmeyer and skewering school. His less private tirades soon land him in trouble with Mrs. Bailey, a New Agey English teacher, and with icky fellow student Kyle Weir, a homophobic anti-Semite. The most hilariously heated entries depict falling in love for the first time with Rob Hunt (whose mother, Kathy, is in quite serious condition with ALS). Throughout the diary, Charlie keeps revising his college application essay, and it's not easy for him to watch his parents' marital troubles during First's campaign—or just to be a gay 17. Ferguson's exuberant portrait successfully re-creates coming-of-age's dizzy heat. (Sept.)