Thirteen-year-old Xio, a Mexican American girl, and Frederick, who has just moved to California from Wisconsin, quickly become close friends, but when Xio starts thinking of Frederick as her boyfriend, he must confront his feelings of confusion and face the fear that he might be gay.

Possibly only 3.5 stars because it was almost didactic. But we need more books in this genre, so I hope people read it and/or inform me of other related books, especially if they're even better.

Sweet, but not subtle, as an eighth-grade boy from Wisconsin moves to California and meets a Mexican-American girl who quickly develops a major crush on him. When Frederick struggles with seeing her as a friend, he realizes he's really struggling with his sexuality. A little kissing, a little name-calling, but no gangs, politics, etc. - just a nice family-style story that should not be at all controversial.

ETA - I've since enjoyed the trilogy that starts [b:Rainbow Boys|94064|Rainbow Boys (Rainbow Trilogy, #1)|Alex Sanchez|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1171272806s/94064.jpg|90674] (which is much more mature) and this does compare favorably. ( )

Newly arrived in California, eighth-grader Frederick meets and becomes friends with a girl named Xio. When Xio develops a major crush on Frederick, their relationship takes an awkward turn with Frederick finding it hard to reciprocate Xio's feelings because he's attracted to a boy. Is he gay? Can a boy and a girl be 'just' friends? By alternating between Xio's and Frederick's first-person point of view, Sanchez does a good job of exploring both the evolution of their tangled emotions and the nature of friendship.

Told in alternating voices from the girl, Xio, and the boy, Frederick, "So Hard To Say" explores young adults' discovery of sexual feelings. The voices are very distinct with Xio's flirty and friendly take on her friends, the Sexxies, and her crush on Frederick. In contrast, Frederick's voice is reserved and observant, unsure and scared, since he thinks he might be gay, but is scared to admit it, even to himself. Alex Sanchez is well known for his novels about young people's realization and acceptance of their own homosexuality, as well as that of other people. The way Frederick comes to the point of admitting he is gay to himself is realistic, without jumping into being gay, but barely exploring it--which adds to the realistic aspect of the story. ( )

There's a need for sensitive books about teens and sexuality, especially for gay and lesbian teens. There's also a need for books about teens from diverse ethnic backgrounds. This book is OK in that it does no harm and it is sensitive in handling the issues. It's a shame that the plot is thin, the characters are one-deminsional and the prose plods along. ( )