Publishers Weekly
05/23/2022
Set in richly described southern Minnesota, Peter’s (Oranges, for adults) YA debut is a compact, touching introspection on one gay teenager’s first love. Closeted 15-year-old white Carl Paulsen, who lives with his father on their struggling dairy farm, is still unsettled from his mother’s death from cancer two years earlier. When white Minneapolis transplant Andy Olnan protects him on the first day of school from Carl’s longtime bully, who hurls homophobic slurs, the two become fast friends. Andy is cagey about his move, only hinting that it was part of a deal he made with his intensely religious mother. Despite Andy’s closed-off nature and his public fixation with girls, Carl’s convinced he might be gay, too. After they get high and hook up, Carl is sideswiped by Andy’s subsequent rejection and must unravel his feelings alone. Carl’s willfully ignoring Andy’s flaws and their clashing personalities is a skillful representation of teenage crushes. Knowing his father will be supportive, Carl is more preoccupied with how to come out, rather than a potential negative reaction, providing an alternate and necessary perspective to queer youth’s myriad challenges. This is a tender, rural spin on gay first love. Ages 12–up. (July)
From the Publisher
"Carl Paulsen wants to belong to this world, broken though it may be. There is a magic in this book, magic that makes us feel we are in this young man's heart as he struggles to find his place in the world. The words shimmer with gentle, heartbreaking empathy. The result is a beautiful piece of fiction, sure to make anyone who reads it feel less alone." —N. West Moss, author of Flesh and Blood and The Subway Stops at Bryant Park
"Whoever you are, wherever you’re from, get ready to fall in love with Carl Paulsen. Gary Eldon Peter’s hero is smart, charming, modest (but opinionated where it counts) and, speaking of falling in love, he’s gay. A new boy at school catches Carl’s eye and seems to return his interest. Or does he? Carl’s roller-coaster of a semester is warmly familiar and yet full of surprising twists and turns. This book will have huge appeal across age groups and backgrounds." —David Pratt, author of Wallaçonia
"Fearlessly exploring the nuances of love and friendship, Peter’s characters navigate life’s inevitable disappointments with humor and hope. Teenagers will love this story of vulnerability and courage as Carl finds the strength to act on his own feelings, and subsequently realizes his family and friends’ love for him is profoundly rooted in acceptance." —Carol Dines, author of This Distance We Call Love and The Queen's Soprano
"With insight and grace, Gary Eldon Peter explores the big questions: Who am I? Who will I be? And who will I let truly know me? This novel's gentleness is underlain with the absolute determination of a quiet teenager's quest for self-identity." —Alison McGhee, author of Where We Are and What I Leave Behind
"Meet Carl Paulsen – he’s not rich, urban, or 'fabulous.' He’s a farm boy devoted to his cows, his younger sister, and his widowed father (in that order). When Carl meets Andy Olnan, the new boy in town, everything suddenly changes, just like that moment in West Side Story when Maria meets Tony. I absolutely loved this fresh, unpredictable, and heartrending-but-hopeful book. Funny, sad, closeted farm kid Carl Paulsen is my new best friend." —Brian Malloy, author of The Year of Ice and After Francesco
"Once I picked up The Complicated Calculus (and Cows) of Carl Paulsen, I had a hard time putting it down. I fell hard for Carl and his very active but pragmatic imagination, his sense of irony and humor, his clear-eyed view of the world. And he does love his cows!" —Judith Katz, author of The Escape Artist and Running Fiercely Toward a High Thin Sound
"This is a tender, rural spin on gay first love."—Publishers Weekly
Kirkus Reviews
2022-03-29
In the midst of constant worries over losing his family’s dairy farm, Carl Paulsen, a gay 16-year-old, contemplates the complications of crushes and coming out.
As far as Carl knows, he’s the only gay person in his isolated, rural Minnesota town. Although he aches to escape and begin his life in the 21st century, he also can’t bear the thought of leaving behind his family’s dairy farm, the last connection to his mother, who passed away from cancer two years ago. When new student Andy Olnan introduces himself at sophomore registration, Carl can imagine for the first time having a boyfriend and opening up to his dad about his sexuality. A presumed all-White cast of characters populates this moody, introspective coming-out story. Readers may feel frustrated as, for most of the book, Carl pines and frets, seeming to willfully ignore the red flags in Andy’s behavior in hopes that he will realize they are meant to be together. Scanty dialogue and low action also make the narrative drag. Although the ending brings some hope, overt homophobia is prevalent in Carl’s community, and even the people who accept him can barely bring themselves to say the word gay. No one dies at the end, but the exploration of sexuality offers nothing new to the genre.
Dated and trudging. (Fiction. 14-18)
