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Honestly Ben

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Honestly Ben

Written by: Bill Konigsberg
Narrated by: Dan Bittner
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In the companion to Openly Straight, Ben confronts pressure at school, repression at home, and his passion for two very different people in figuring out what it takes to be Honestly Ben.

The companion to the award-winning Openly Straight, called "remarkable...deeply satisfying and as honest as its appealing protagonist" (Booklist). Perfect for fans of David Levithan, Andrew Smith, and John Green!

Ben Carver is back to normal. He's working steadily in his classes at the Natick School. He just got elected captain of the baseball team. He's even won a full scholarship to college, if he can keep up his grades. All that foolishness with Rafe Goldberg the past semester is in the past.

Except...There's Hannah, the gorgeous girl from the neighboring school, who attracts him and distracts him. There's his mother, whose quiet unhappiness Ben is noticing for the first time. School is harder, the pressure higher, the scholarship almost slipping away. And there's Rafe, funny, kind, dating someone else . . . and maybe the real normal that Ben needs.

©2017 Bill Konigsberg (P)2017 Scholastic Inc. Dating & Sex Difficult Situations Family Family & Relationships Literature & Fiction Dating Funny Romance

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What the critics say

"Dan Bittner's narration develops the unique personality of 17-year-old Ben, a secondary character in Konigsberg's earlier book Openly Straight.... In this follow-up, Bittner quickly reveals Ben's intelligence and introspection.... In a complex portrait, Bittner captures Ben's confused central conflict - is he gay, or straight, or is he only 'gay-for-Rafe'? Keeping the plot engaging, Bittner highlights Ben's search for his identity." (AudioFile)
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I bought this right after finishing Openly Straight, I loved the story, the characters from Openly Straight, and was fully hyped to continue to follow the journey Bill Konigsberg wanted to tell. I had some anxiety about the novel following Ben instead of Rafe, but I trusted Konigsberg and bought it.

It was the right choice. Just as good as Openly Straight, this expanded the characters, had the same comedic energy, and allowed up to see into the mind of Ben, to see how he thinks, how he comprehends life.

This story was amazing, following after Openly Straight, It was great, the characters were portrayed amazingly, following the struggle, and emotions Ben has to go through following the events of the first novel was amazing. Highly recommend if you enjoyed Openly Straight.

Just great.

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I really enjoyed Openly Straight, and I was a bit reluctant to get Honesty Ben, as sequels are often a letdown. I was also concerned that it changed from Rafe’s perspective to Ben’s. I was pleasantly surprised.
I don’t want to post any spoilers, so I’ll just say it was great to see how things developed with the characters and to see more depth into Ben’s character, and to see how...magenta he is.
I’m sad to see that the author doesn’t plan a third book with these characters.

Glad I purchased it!

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Love the characters, they have realistic struggles about understanding and accepting their identities. Performance was great as well.

Love the characters!

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