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By Chris Crutcher
Published in 1989 by Delacorte Press
Athletic Shorts is a great collection of stories, each featuring an athletic male protagonist. If you ever want to defy someone’s stereotypes on dumb jocks, just show them this book. Beautifully crafted and extremely fun to read, two of the stories feature prominent and heartfelt queer characters.
“A Brief Moment in the Life of Angus Bethune”
Angus Bethune, an overweight football player, has always known he was different from everyone else. Besides the fact that his pants are more than a couple of sizes bigger than most guys’, he has two sets of gay parents. One day, Angus is nominated for Winter Formal king (because of what he suspects as foul play) and with the help and support of his fathers, he drags himself to the formal to experience what he thinks will be the utter humiliation of dancing. But to his surprise, Angus is able to not only stand up for himself, but also win over the girl of his dreams.
“In the Time I Get”
Louie Banks is no stranger to tolerance. He even gave up his high school football career because of it, when he wouldn’t put an illegal hit on an African- American player and was kicked off the team. Mourning the death of his girlfriend, Louie meets Darren, a homosexual man dying from AIDS. Darren teaches Louie about the true meaning of friendship and grace in the face of tragedy and prejudice.
--Posted by Hannah
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