Love Drugged by James Klise

Here's a blurb from Mr. Klise's website: Love Drugged is about a Chicago teenager named Jamie Bates. Jamie's gay, but he's in no hurry to come out to anyone. In Jamie's view, what's the rush? He's only fifteen.


But when a classmate learns this secret, Jamie freaks out. He responds by doing what generations of gay boys have done before him: He begins dating a girl in his class, Celia Gamez.

Celia is fantastic. She's beautiful, funny, smart. Plus, she's super into Jamie.

Courtesy of Celia's dad, a wealthy doctor, Jamie gets his hands on a new drug - a little blue pill that promises to “cure” gay men. Love Drugged chronicles the weeks and months of Jamie's experiment with these pills, at the same time that his relationship with Celia heats up.

One teeny-tiny problem? The only way Jamie can get more of the drug is to steal it.

And that's not easy to do when the two things standing in the way of Jamie and the drug are Celia and her dad, neither of whom must ever find out that Jamie is gay! Or wait - WAS gay.

Oh, and there's one other thing: Without meaning to, Jamie develops a major crush on an older classmate named Ivan. NOT exactly part of the new plan...

Part comedy, part thriller, part star-crossed romance, Love Drugged examines the dangers of a life constructed almost entirely of lies ... especially the lies we tell ourselves.

My Take

This book was interesting.  Jamie's dire quest to be like everyone else kinda' broke my heart.  I will say that I'm not gay, but I think fitting in is a universal struggle.  Everyone, at one time or another has the desire to want to fit in.  And let's face it, love is love regardless of who it's between.

At what price does that blending come at?  Is it really worth it if it completely changes who you've become?  How sad to let the person you are slip into oblivion so that you may become someone like everyone else.

Jamie is a great character.  I feel his pain and his uncertainty.  I was always surprised at what he was going to do next.  I'd recommend this book and I like the cover.  It's pretty cool.  3 1/2 fabulous kisses for this one!