Sugar Rush by Julie Burchill (2004)

Rainbow Rating: Five out of Five Rainbows (5/5)

Sugar Rush is a 2004 novel by Julie Burchill that was turned into a TV series in the UK. Since the series is not available here in Region 1, I got the book instead.

I had seen it described (once) as a shallow fantasy story. Considering the premise is: a girl moves to a new school and promptly scores the affection of the head-of-the-totem-pole most popular girl, I was willing to believe it. But the concept didn't affront me -- we have, after all, been subjected to heterosexual fantasies since we were children. Even as toddlers we are fed Sleeping Beauty, Snow White, Pocahontas. If hypothetically Sugar Rush's gay daydream were to show us the other side of the coin for once, that's something more than worthy of a look.

It was with a feuding mix of intrigued elation and embarassed chagrin that I discovered how utterly off-base the 'fantasy angle' was in describing Sugar Rush. The last thing I was expecting to find from Sugar Rush, was exactly what it is: one of the most disgustingly poignant and frighteningly insightful books I've ever read. Mind you, it's not poignant in a universal way, where I can say "read this book, it will change your life." It's poignant in the shockingly idiosyncratic way, where I have to wonder if -- in my specific case -- the author has been watching me live, in order to write this story. I'm a little bit terrified by this book, but only because it's been so long since I've revisited the unfortunate misadventures of my early romantic youth.

I was fully prepared for Sugar Rush to be superficial, gaudy, maybe even as bad as those preposterously graphic porn novels for houswwives Wal-Mart sells about ravishing princes and gross idealized rape scenarios. But it wasn't. Not at all. I actually found it to be quite a sincere novel. Far from shallow, it's daringly real.

It's neither as eloquent nor as romantic as Annie On My Mind, but there's no shame in being beaten by the best. It's a different aesthetic -- one that I'm less fond of. But it's one that is, in all honesty, exceedingly more true to my actual teenage years than Annie is. Annie represents idyllic, perfect love, while Sugar Rush presents a more accurate depiction of the sordid little lives we lead. At its finest moments, Sugar Rush manages to accurately capture the naive, butterflies-in-the-stomach fun of being young, juxtaposed against the horrible rough edges inherent in the coming of age. Side by side you have the light-headed excitement mixed with fear that you get from brand new experiences, when you're young enough to feel like anything can happen; And then comes sorrow, the dread, the existential confusion that accompanies divorce, lost friendships, school. The self-doubt, the unbridled enthusiasm, the awkwardness, the drugs... portrayed just how I really experienced them all as a teen.

I was pleased to find that Maria "Sugar" Sweet wasn't quite the archetypal "popular girl" ruling the school like she had been portrayed in some write-ups. As a matter of fact, her popularity lasts all of about one paragraph, from then on out she's more of an outcast misfit. I certainly have nothing against popular people (love 'em), but two people alone in the world clinging to each other for warmth -- that's my favorite kind of love story. This novel takes a familiar set of angst and imbues it with a new modernity.

SPOILERS!!!

I generally don't find it necessary to delve into spoiler territory in my reviews, but it's impossible to discuss the impact of Sugar Rush without doing so. So I strongly discourage those who have not read the novel, who think they ever might, from reading any further portion of this review.

While an upcoming tragedy was distinctly foreshadowed, I was expecting something categorically different, perhaps an ill-fated out-ing like in a Nancy Garden novel. I think the disastrous and illuminating phone call with Stella is the moment where the reader is supposed to realize Stella and Maria are two terminally selfish, woefully clueless peas in a pod. And I did briefly consider it, but I shrugged it off. You have to understand, my mind was set on this being a love story. An unadventurous straight-A private school prep falls for the informal but passionate city school girl? Where have I seen that before? I was fully expecting this to be the crude, unkempt 00s update of Annie On My Mind. My mind wouldn't let go of the idea that they would end up together until the gangbang scene, putting me right in the mindset of Kim and allowing me to be quite a bit as flabbergasted as she.

It's hard for me to even process this book. I have to look back on scenes like when Maria cheered Kim up after her disastrous school presentation and wonder, in light of the ending... what was the motive there? I suppose Maria was a good friend some of the time, it wasn't ALL about attention. But she still did manipulate Kim. But Maria probably didn't even realize how she was manipulating Kim. That's sort of the point, that she's simply clueless and blind.

Suffice to say, Sugar Rush mirrors what I've gone through quite ferociously. It scarily mimics a few aspects of my history that I have no intention of getting into, but what was most striking about it was the thought process Kim went through. It's not just that she was duped, but that she was duping herself to an extent. She held on to hope longer than a person reasonable should have, looking at everything that Sugar did and figuring out a way to keep believing they were meant for each other. Kim had a conclusion in mind, and morphed the circumstances to support that conclusion, rather than looking at the circumstances and deciphering what they mean. My real life tragic flaw is the very same, when it comes to love I make excuses and manipulate the benefit of the doubt until I can "reasonably" hold on to hope. Until it eventually all tumbles down, when the benefit of the doubt gives way to hard facts.

I'm really glad Zoe and Kim ended up together, though. I was always hoping they would be friends again, I never felt they should have really parted ways in the first place. I was shipping them without ever thinking they had a chance to be together. That confrontation scene at the end was exquisite. All in all I just have to say this novel was impeccable at every turn. The writing was a little odd at moments, but the story was flawless and brilliantly handled.


Aside: Sugar Rush the TV Series

Sugar Rush became a hit TV show on the UK's Channel 4 in 2005 & 2006. To prep myself for reading "Sweet," I watched a few episodes of the TV series. As a TV show, it's quite decent. Coming into it blind, I'm certain I would enjoy it a lot. But as a devout fan of the original novel, I find the TV interpretation hard to swallow. It's a show inspired by the characters of Sugar Rush (or even just its premise) rather than being an adaption of Sugar Rush itself. The characters are similar to how they appear in the book, but the plot does not align in the least. Zoe does not even exist in this adaption, although a random character named Saint (Zoe's nickname) begins appearing in season 2. The TV version of Stella never even abandons Kim & the family, thus altering her character dramatically. Basically, the TV version is devoid of every little thing that makes Sugar Rush bloody brilliant. Yet, if I can mentally divorce the show from the source material, I would enjoy the TV version as a quality (though trashy) gay teen drama that came out right around the time we in the US had the stellar South of Nowhere.


Aside: "Sweet," the Sugar Rush Sequel

Oy, Julie Burchill's sequel is utterly awful. One of the worst books I've ever read. It pisses all over the very human depth of the first novel. It follows the pointless misadventures of Sugar as she toys with people and incompetently fucks her life up, while constantly soapboxing about issues she has no right to point fingers at in the light of her astounding wastoid existence. And the ending... god. Stupidest ending ever. I'd pay a hundred bucks to remove this novel from my memory.

I'm not an unfair reviewer though. While Sweet violently vomits on everything I happen to consider remotely decent, worthwhile, or intelligent, it does entertain something of an interesting character study. Not unheard of in the wake of recent TV shows like Girls and Enlightened, which feature monstrously selfish and mind-bogglingly clueless protagonists. If you're a fan of those shows, you may well find much to appreciate about Sugar Sweet's complete lack of morals or self-awareness.

Empress of the World by Sara Ryan (2001)

Rainbow Rating: Three & one-half out of Five Rainbows (3.5/5)

Empress of the World is a quaint little romance novel from 2001 written by Sara Ryan. Within its pages, a teenage girl named Nicola meets a group of friends at a summer learning program, whom quickly become her inseparable confidants. She then falls madly in love with another member of this clan, a gentle Southern girl with the unlikely name of Battle.

 'Empress' is far from the best novel I've ever read, but it has a definite power to it. Despite the countless tropes it employs, it's a genuinely unique piece of work. It's kind of strange, half of what I read is "young adult" fiction, and yet this is the first time in years I actually felt like I was reading a kids' book. Despite the characters being almost college-age, plus the smoking and drinking of alcohol, and the references to sex and drugs, this book reads like it is meant for middle school or younger. The writing is ceaselessly straight-forward, though not without its charms, and the scenes are often only a few sentences long. It actually becomes very jarring, having mere glimpses raised up to be scenes, and chapters tend to end abruptly in the middle of action I'd really like to see develop further. But beneath the frustration lies an excellent adventure. 

Giving teenagers the run of a campus (their summer program takes place at a university), provided a fun bit of independence and made the characters seem a lot older than they are. It gave it sort of a Zoey 101 feel. It made me nostalgic for college, more than anything else. The characters were pure and naive, but in an endearing and fairly true to life way. Like many young adult novels, it doesn't shy away from portraying alcohol in a positive light. And, like Annie On My Mind, the drinking is used subtlety to add a pinch of mystery and adventure to a beautifully romantic scene.

The romance itself, for the most part, is actually pretty generic. Where this novel shines with notable fervor is in its depiction of the core friendship between Nicola and the other kids she met in the program. Their friendship develops quickly but not at all unrealistically, into a do-or-die allegience and an effortless rapport. The many scenes of pragmatic Nicola clashing against bossy, extroverted crazy-nerd Katrina and soft-spoken but strong-willed Battle are fun, free-spirited, and vividly genuine. I would love to see a sequel focused on Katrina, her character was so much fun.

 I don't know what to say about it other than that it was kind of a trip for me. Juxtaposing the juvenile writing style with the college-esque characters, then adding in the powerful wistfulness of its 'fleeting summer of youth' theme, sort of threw me for a loop. I would definitely recommend this novel for fans of friendship and slice of life stories; in that category it is fairly immaculate. But for romance you'd do better to read Annie On My Mind. Yet I'm proud to say that this is another humble, pure-hearted novel about two girls in love, without the murder, suicide, promiscuous sex or soapboxing that sometimes plagues lesbian literature. This is the kind of romance I believe in with mine own heart.

I also strongly urge you to get the Audio Book version as read by Lauren Davis. She really brought the characters to life, in fact I gave the book an extra half-rainbow rating for it.

Sara Ryan also wrote a sequel, titled Rules for Hearts. But it also appears to be a stand alone novel and doesn't pick up with Battle and Nic's story, but rather expands on Battle and her estranged brother Nick. Unless I get very desperate for YA lesbian romance novels, I won't be reading that one, considering Nic and Katrina were the characters I really loved in Empress of the World and the storyline with brother Nick was a thread I actually didn't mind leaving unresolved. And luckily, there doesn't seem to be a shortage of top-notch Lesbian fiction these days, so don't expect a Rules for Hearts review from me. But if you do enjoy Empress of the World, I encourage you to read Rules for Hearts as well! Bless Sara Ryan for writing it, so few of these novels seem to ever get sequels (and Lord would I like them to!)

Annie On My Mind by Nancy Garden (1982)

Rainbow Rating: Five out of Five Rainbows (5/5)

Simply the finest romance I have ever encountered. Just finished rereading it and it was yet imbued with as much unspeakable magic as ever prior. No, I'm not much of a literati. But I can without question count this as my favorite book, behind the last few Harry Potter novels.

I probably cried the first time I read it, I think I vaguely remember that. And yet this time... it seemed so much darker than before, somehow. Even though I knew what to expect. I think ignorance was easier to swallow then. Today I've lost touch... with how anyone could be so blind... how an otherwise decent person could be so cruel, so truly evil as to hate love. Sounds freaking naive, doesn't it? Stupid even, for me to say something so childish? Well... I suppose this is "Zenlike Immaturity," after all. ;)

To describe the beauty of "Annie..." would be difficult with words, for its strength exists on the spiritual, or at least the romantic, level. It aptly captures the indescribable wonder of youth, and the purity of love. On the technical front, it's an impressive and inarguably important piece of Young Adult literature. It is unflinching and unafraid, yet never falters from its message that samesex love is not invariably a walkway into sorrow. It remains true to life without resorting to ugliness. Alcohol and cigarettes and sex, these subjects are presented without the slightest negative connotation. Surprising and admirable for a book that's often taught in schools, it treads not by the letter of the law but by its spirit, supporting love and morality without preaching vain adherence to the outdated taboos that riddle scholastic materials.

I emailed Nancy Garden once. If you are a fan of her or the book, you really ought to drop her a line. The response she gave me was beautiful, saying that I would meet an Annie to my Liza someday. I can't say I'm sure it's true, but life has already gifted me so much more than I ever dreamed possible, especially in my youth, that I can't honestly say I'd mind if I never do. If the best life can give me is good friends and happy times, that is so much more than enough. So much more... than I ever thought I'd receive.