‘Honestly Ben’ by Bill Konigsberg is the sequel to ‘Openly Straight’ and I kind of wish I had brushed up on that book before starting this because the novel starts just right after where that book ended. But I remember enough about the characters that I quickly got into their story. The narration also changes to Ben’s point of view and I like his voice better – more mature, and in a lot of ways he know more about himself. But there’s some irony to that, though, cause in here he finds himself in conflicting emotions about who he has fallen for, for he meets Hannah, and he finds that he is attracted to her as well. He decides that he is straight, but in love with one boy – Rafe.
I found the book enjoyable, and Ben is irresistible, though there are times when I wanted to shout at him for always doing the right thing. Seriously, his honesty is to blame for a lot of the conflicts here. And I don’t know why, but I found myself rooting for Hannah too. But the end is a good payoff, and we know a lot more about these characters – and ourselves – by the end of the book.