HOT BOY SUMMER

A blossoming group of gay friends feel the heat in San Antonio.

On the last day of junior year, 17-year-old Mac and his classmates are reading aloud the persuasive letters they wrote to notable people for their AP Language and Composition class. When Flor hesitates, Mikey gives him the encouragement he needs by singing a refrain from Ariana Grande’s song “breathin.” Mac and best friend Cam join in, Flor’s letter to a RuPaul’s Drag Race competitor earns rousing applause, and a new friend group is born. Dubbing themselves the Fierce Bitches Club, the four plan the summer of a lifetime. Rule No. 1: “Ariana Grande is everything.” Although stan culture can be joyful and validating, the author fails to convey fandom as a means of real connection; the scenes in which Grande’s music and iconography embolden the teens’ relationships come across as contrived and performative. Beyond the celebrity worship lies a story of family and friendship: Mac is figuring out how to come out to his hot-tempered dad, and temperatures rise as Mac and Mikey get close, while Cam (whose emotional drama wears on the group) competes in a drag showdown with Flor and is ostracized by the others. This overly long work reads like a social media saga, complete with group chat transcripts, hashtags, and gay slang. A heartfelt Pride celebration and the concert of their dreams are sunny spots, however. The cast is predominantly Mexican; Mikey is Filipino.

A tribute act that falters.