--- product_id: 15250138 title: "Openly Straight" brand: "bill konigsberg" price: "69 zł" currency: PLN in_stock: true reviews_count: 8 url: https://www.desertcart.pl/products/15250138-openly-straight store_origin: PL region: Poland --- # Openly Straight **Brand:** bill konigsberg **Price:** 69 zł **Availability:** ✅ In Stock ## Quick Answers - **What is this?** Openly Straight by bill konigsberg - **How much does it cost?** 69 zł with free shipping - **Is it available?** Yes, in stock and ready to ship - **Where can I buy it?** [www.desertcart.pl](https://www.desertcart.pl/products/15250138-openly-straight) ## Best For - bill konigsberg enthusiasts ## Why This Product - Trusted bill konigsberg brand quality - Free international shipping included - Worldwide delivery with tracking - 15-day hassle-free returns ## Description Full description not available ## Images ![Openly Straight - Image 1](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/61LIJ4Z0otL.jpg) ## Customer Reviews ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐ Great read that lacks luster. *by R***D on Reviewed in the United States on July 20, 2018* I read this one after "Honesty Ben"--not the best sequence. In both of the books I was much impressed with the writing, especially the excellent dialogue and the expression of feelings. (In fact, it closely approached that of my all time favorite, Anthony MacDonald, which is saying a lot.) The "situation" is a bit unusual within this genre, bringing out issues and emotions dealing with "labeling" in general and especially regarding sexuality of course. Yet, at the end of the first book, I felt some disappointment--something didn't seen fulfilled, and that's why I turned to this book detailing the "main players'" prior interactions. It didn't help much. The great writing of dialogue and feelings of love, honesty, faithfulness, etc. were there, and finally I realized that (for me) the missing element--the lack of luster--was indeed the lack of lust. It appears (to me) that the author chooses not to express the lust part of a young loving relationship--I noticed that I had looked in vain for the beauty that this fine author could bring to a, say, four-or-five page situational build up and consummation of erotic love. As it was, it was left as though the guys, perhaps especially Ben, had but little libido-- lacked testosterone perhaps or hadn't gotten past their inhibitions. So for me, a really good read but missing the luster this writer could have given it. Maybe, in it's place, are the good but seemingly "too much" or "out of place" SERMONS (it felt) about labeling, total "honesty," etc. Admitted, of course, is that for M2M stories to be really complete (for me, again) is at least one good/great scene that gets me hard and leaking--that didn't happen. ### ⭐⭐ I thought I would like this one....... *by A***. on Reviewed in the United States on January 22, 2019* When I read the synopsis of this I thought "oh this will be good". And yes the story is good and the message the main learns is great. BUT the main character is just awful! He ruins what could be a coming of age story. Without giving spoilers, it's an openly gay teenager who moves across the country to go to a new school to get away from the whole being labeled as the token gay guy. Which I get is totally understandable, our society is all about labeling people. So he goes to another school and doesn't tell anybody he is gay, he even goes to lengths to lie about being gay. Now his family doesn't understand why he is doing this and think it's a bad idea......Which it is. But he keeps playing the whole I want to get away from labels. Which again is all fine and great, BUT HE IS ALL ABOUT LABELING EVERYONE ELSE!!!!!! He first started hanging out with the jocks and talks about how he doesn't really like them and wouldn't be friends with them, but since he is doing his whole "no labels" thing he sticks around them. *face palm*. Like I said this would be a great story but the main character is just so infuriating he makes the story less then enjoyable to read. I was over it after the 2nd chapter but I needed to finish this. There is a second book from another characters view but I don't think I could read it when this one left a bad taste in my mouth. ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Brilliant. Complex. Emotionally solid. *by U***Z on Reviewed in the United States on July 10, 2013* Books are very much a matter of taste. YA books are a sub-set of that, and I happen to love them, generally.But this was a special book for me, both as a gay man who came out in the 1970s and as the father (with another man) of two teenagers. (Straight ones, just for the record.) Having read Konigsberg's "Out of the Pocket," which I liked a lot (did not love, to be clear), I took his recommendation to look into the next book. Very glad I did.From the very beginning, the book's core premise was destined to make me squirm - Rafe Goldberg, a loved, self-assured, well-adjusted gay seventeen-year-old decides to move away from his bubble of liberalism and go to a New England all-boys prep school so he can shed his label - "the gay boy." He yearns to be "just one of the guys." And he succeeds. He's just butch enough to pass in a setting where no one knows him, without his hippy parents proclaiming gay pride every time he walks into a room. He is thrilled to be "normal."Oh, Lord, was I uncomfortable from the get-go. Because I went to prep school in New England, and I never, ever managed to be "one of the guys." I tried to start over again at my Ivy League college (still in the 1970s) and that failed in the first twenty-four hours. So I hated what Rafe did. I hated what he wanted to do, because he could do it and I couldn't when I was his age.But I trusted the author. I thought I knew where Rafe's journey would take him, and I was almost right. I was right in that I knew that Rafe was a great guy - a good kid - in spite of the dickish thing he was doing. I know that teenagers make poor choices for what seem like good reasons. I know that the boys Rafe interacts with at prep school are archetypes - and, having teenagers, I know that there is a great deal of truth in these archetypes, so yelling "stereotype" is beside the point. All teenagers are trying out roles, trying to see who they want to be; figuring out who they are.Rafe, and Ben and Toby and Albie and Claire Olivia - even the jocks - felt pretty spot-on to me. I've had the dubious pleasure of reliving high school these past four years through my kids(arrgh) and my own memories support Konigsberg's setting pretty closely. Rafe and Ben are the only two characters who get to develop deeply. But the secondary characters are vivid and compelling - and you watch as Rafe labels them - all the while trying to avoid his own label! - and then begins to appreciate them (or not) according to who they really are.And my favorite YA books are the ones in which parents matter. Rafe's parents matter, and are living proof that supportive loving parents are just as annoying as distant disapproving ones. Except that they love you, and that, in the end, is what makes all the difference for Rafe. Rafe makes a journey of self discovery (NOT of self-acceptance). And he takes us with him, in one of the gentlest, most intimate YA books I've ever read. --- ## Why Shop on Desertcart? - 🛒 **Trusted by 1.3+ Million Shoppers** — Serving international shoppers since 2016 - 🌍 **Shop Globally** — Access 737+ million products across 21 categories - 💰 **No Hidden Fees** — All customs, duties, and taxes included in the price - 🔄 **15-Day Free Returns** — Hassle-free returns (30 days for PRO members) - 🔒 **Secure Payments** — Trusted payment options with buyer protection - ⭐ **TrustPilot Rated 4.5/5** — Based on 8,000+ happy customer reviews **Shop now:** [https://www.desertcart.pl/products/15250138-openly-straight](https://www.desertcart.pl/products/15250138-openly-straight) --- *Product available on Desertcart Poland* *Store origin: PL* *Last updated: 2026-04-24*