Audrey reviews Femme by Mette Bach

femme

Femme is a nice little YA coming-out novel. It’s told by Sofie, who eventually identifies as a femme (I’m not giving anything away by saying this, seriously), and involves Clea, who fits, as Sofie’s boyfriend Paul says, “the classic jock lesbo stereotype.”

Femme is safe to add to school collections (the publisher recommends it for ages 13-18) and is definitely a good public library addition. It is not a book you’ll remember on your deathbed, but it has some excellent qualities. Let’s point them up right now: This is a high-interest, low-level novel (it’s written on a third-grade level). It’s short. You can give it to a reluctant reader and know that reader has a good chance of finishing it. It has a passable cover immediately identifiable as part of Lorimer’s “edgy” issues-laden SideStreets series (U.S. readers, think Orca’s high interest-low level books).

Femme also features a strong, positive, mixed-race love interest (Clea’s mom is white, and her dad is black–they’re still together, by the way, and successful, and very supportive of their daughter), and, eventually, a happy, healthy, interracial same-sex relationship. This is worth emphasizing in a YA lit world where “interracial relationship” is often a signifier for “tragic/bittersweet ending.”

Sofie is a senior, dating the BMOC. She’s not in honors classes, and she’s not headed for a prestigious (Canadian–Femme takes place in Canada) university. No one has ever believed in her before. Sofie assists her (single) mom with the family business, Sunny Side Cleaning. Sofie loves to cook, and she’s been part of her school’s interfaith group and knitting club. Until Paul, anyway. Now Paul takes up most of her time.

And now her English teacher has paired her for the year with Clea. Clea’s brilliant, and athletically talented and also, she’s the school’s only out lesbian.

Paul is a stereotypically oafish senior pretty boy. It’s not that he’s mean; he just doesn’t think. The others in his crowd are broadly drawn too. His mean ex is complemented by other mean girls; he wants more than Sofie is comfortable giving; he derides her interests. And Sofie’s a little confused. Why does he think their making out sessions are so intense? She’s not all that engaged.

SPOILERS: (Really, are these spoilers? Do we seriously not know what’s going to happen?) The storyline is predictable, which is not at all a criticism. It includes a growing awareness, a breakup with the boyfriend, a shy beginning with the girlfriend, the inevitable backlash at school, dealing with Mom, and finally–a sweet resolution with the tang of new hope. END SPOILERS!

This is a fine title to hand to a young person who doesn’t think they like reading, but who might be looking for a book like this to identify with. Or who just wants a nice short romance. My one caveat is that Sofie is very naive and might not appeal as a narrator to more worldly kids. On the whole, this is a sweet little story (with some requisite homophobic ugliness that gets resolved).

Amanda Clay reviews Femme by Mette Bach

 

femme

Knowledge is power. Sofie, however, has always felt pretty powerless, at least when it comes to academics. She enjoys school—playing soccer and hanging out with her cute, popular boyfriend Paul. And even though she and her single mom don’t have a lot of extra money, their home is loving and stable. But now, close to graduation, she realizes that her world is changing. The time she spends with Paul isn’t what it used to be, and her mother is beginning to pressure her about the future. When Sofie gets paired with her high school’s star student Clea, she is sure this is the final straw. Until she realizes something else. Clea’s the only out lesbian at school, and once she and Sofie start working together, Sofie begins to question everything she thought she knew about herself, what she’s capable of, and what she might become. A road trip with Clea to scout potential universities kicks off an avalanche of self-discovery, one which sweeps away her old life and just about everyone in it.

I wanted to like Femme, and while I didn’t actually hate it, I was unable to muster much feeling one way or the other.  It’s a hi/lo title (high interest, low reading level) but that classification doesn’t mean that the book must be shallow and simplistic. Unfortunately, Femme is just that. Everything happens too quickly, too easily. Time zooms along. On one page it’s Christmas, on the next page it’s months later with no inkling of anything that might have occurred in the interim. Character development seems limited to a few signifiers: Clea is a good student!  Sofie is a foodie (who never really talks about food or cooks anything after declaring herself a foodie)!  Paul is handsome and popular! Along we cruise towards the predictable end of the story. Coming out stories still have their place in LGBT lit, but it is not unfair to expect more from them these days than mere self-discovery. Sofie’s story offers nothing more than that, and even the self-discovery is as insubstantial as every other aspect of the book. It seems like Sofie comes out because the author decided to write a story about a girl coming out. No stress, no struggle, just another plot point and on we go.

The world needs stories. We especially need lesbian stories, lesbian stories of butch women, women of color and size and age, stories of self-discovery and first love. We need all of this, and while Femme tries hard to deliver, ultimately I believe we can do better.