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Teen tale touches fellow 'Band Fag'

I loved "Band Fags!"
Yes, Frank Anthony Polito's first novel, a semi-autobiographical tale about a teenage boy growing up in Hazel Park and struggling with his sexual identity, touched me in a way few books ever have.
And I think I know why.
That boy was also me – and his struggles were mine, as well.
Polito's charming story opens in 1982 at Webb Junior High, where 12-year-old seventh grader Jack Paterno plays trumpet in the school band. Together with his new best friend Brad Dayton, a trombone player rumored to be a Total Fag, the two spend the next five years navigating the fun, but sometimes rough waters to adulthood.
Surviving the junior and senior high school years isn't easy for any teenager, of course. But back then, growing up gay – or knowing that you were somehow different from everyone else, but weren't quite sure why – often left struggling teens adrift and alone, with no one to share their thoughts and fears.
That was Jack. That was me.
It's a tumultuous battle that Polito captures so perfectly.
The dialogue sparkles throughout the book. And his characters and situations are all quite authentic. Most impressive, though, is how Jack's narrative voice matures over the story's five-year span.
Readers who survived the era will find much to love about "Band Fags!" – especially the many cultural references Polito uses to frame his story.
But I suspect metro Detroiters will find an even deeper appreciation for the book because of its local color. (Remember Harmony House? The Faygo factory? And Heaven – a once-popular gay bar on Woodward Avenue?)
And me?
Although my own coming-of-age tale began 15 years earlier than Jack's, Polito colorfully proves that his tale and mine are universal. Yes, Jack and I were alone – but so too were the thousands of other young gay boys and girls who stood nearby and believed that they were alone, too.
Even many decades later, I find comfort in that. We survived alone – but together.
And now I can't wait for the book's "companion piece" to find out what happens next!

Frank Anthony Polito
7 p.m. June 11
Common Language, Ann Arbor
734-663-0036
7 p.m. June 12
Five15, Royal Oak
248-515-2551

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