Book Review: 7 Days at the Hot Corner by Terry Trueman

Title: 7 Days at the Hot Corner

Author: Terry Trueman

Genre: YA Realistic Fiction

Number of Pages: 160

Rating: C+

Recommended?: No

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Well, this book has the distinction of having Terry Trueman’s least likable protagonist. Other than that, it doesn’t have much that stands out about it.

After his friend Travis gets injured, baseball aficionado Scott gets some of his blood on him. When Travis comes out as gay and is kicked out of the house by his parents, Scott works himself into a frenzy of gay panic and gets himself tested from HIV/AIDS. Most of the book consists of Scott being a major asshole to Travis and acting like he’s the victim in this situation. When his redemption arc comes, it feels like too little too late.

I’m not against books having unlikable main characters, but Scott doesn’t have enough character development to make him an interesting protagonist. He has pretty much the same voice as Terry Trueman’s other characters and we’re supposed to feel bad for him (maybe?) because his parents got divorced, but a lot of people’s parents get divorced and it doesn’t turn them into grade-A douchebag.

The handling of the gay issues is didactic and I personally think the book might have been more interesting if Travis was the main character. Terry Trueman is a straight man and I guess he thought he’d be better off writing a straight main character but Travis probably would have been more a compelling and sympathetic lead. I’m not a fan of sports of any kind so most of the baseball references went over my head. If you’re interested in Terry Trueman, I’d recommend Inside Out, Stuck in Neutral, or No Right Turn instead.