<B>I RECEIVED A DRC FROM BOLD STROKES BOOKS VIA NETGALLEY. THANK YOU!</B>

Yeah, that worked. I was transported and eager to stay there.
<blockquote>Malik King knew my name? I let the little thrill in my chest play out a couple of seconds before I squashed it.</blockquote>
You remember that moment, the one where your crush sees you for the first time, you exist as more than a label for a thing that takes up space. Malik just experienced it. Cole just experienced the validation of his entire miserable childhood existence as the freak who got snatched by an old cat lady...the hawt guy he's lusted after Noticed Him. What's so adorable is that, being told from Cole's PoV, adults see the way Malik's maneuvering himself into Cole's orbit and really, really, <I>really</i> hoping his butthead jock friends don't get him declined like a noun in Latin class.

And so begins a charming story of teenagers in love, figuring out how to relate to each others' antithetical crowds and what to say to keep <B>Him</b> from figuring out how scared you are, what the hell do I do with my hands, am I staring at his eyes too long, good god not a <I>boner</i> no please god no....

I will not lie: I don't care for the YA genre at all because being a teenager was a fucking misery and I'd just as soon not relive it. What I am saying is, this book and I? We weren't going to be besties. Until I found out about the teleporting thing. Well, this changes everything and how, gimme gimme now. The added levels of anxiety, of learning how to use something he'd never so much as conceptualized could exist, plus his *amazing* new superpower's implications...yeah, totally hooked me. Plus the entire parent-amazingness plus irritating overprotectiveness, how he's so close with his Rainbow Alliance, his teddy bear bestie Alec, I was so deeply delighted by these good-memory echoes. Then, in my usual careless fashion, I read it, liked it, laughed out loud until my sides hurt three separate and distinct times, and...forgot to write a review.

For two years. Holy fuckme, two solid years. I am a bad boy.

So, as I am also a registered Republican (long story...Warren/Social Democrat who's never voted GOP in his entire life), I'm going to blame someone else: Author Burgoine dropped two w-bombs. It sapped my will to write. See? It's all his fault.

4.5 stars

Cole Tozer is two weeks from his high school graduation when his normal plan-making life gets upended. Instead of heading inside from the lunch courtyard, Cole steps through a door and into the aviation museum 80 kilometers away. Then, he botches the return trip--not entirely sure how teleport--and ends up inside his own locker at school. It's only the perfect mess that he's rescued by Malik King, a boy Cole has crushed on for some time. And then, he promptly passed out.

This isn't the first time Cole's had struggles with times and places. He wad kidnapped as a child--some of the nastier kids call him "Colenap" as a joke, but he's re-evaluating that situation in light of his newly discovered teleporting ability. Still, he's always been an odd ball, so he fastidiously plans to ensure he doesn't get himself into any trouble, ever. And, now, with every door he walks through potentially being a door to another plans, Cole needs to keep his wits about him--or else he might just find himself in worse positions if he keeps thinking about Malik, who happens to have a curiosity streak a classroom wide and a glass door in his personal bathroom shower at home...

This is a really creative and interesting story, with a lot of great moments--like when Cole and Malik go out on their first...outing together. Turns out Malik is recently accepting that he's bisexual, but he's not exactly out, and he's not sure how to deal with it. Cole's experience as a sign interpreter of Deaf people helps him read the situations and draw connections that help Malik. Also, there's some folks who are trying to track and attack Cole, to lock his teleportation down so he can't get into trouble like back when he was a kid. Yep, for all his awkwardness, Cole's precocious when it comes to his powers of teleportation. It takes some doing, but he manages to outsmart the beaurocrats and endear himself to Malik in the process. Well, for part of the climax, anyway. Cole gets some help with his traveling from a gal more experienced than he, and he's able to save the day--and rid himself of the controllers on the teleportation pathway.

The pace of this book was brisk, and Cole's narration is sardonic and adorably self-deprecating. His habits of mind: list-making, signing in ASL, extensive planning, all helped create a fully-developed, slightly goofy, teen boy. I was amused and "transported" along with him on this journey of self-exploration. I liked how the romance aspect developed--just the right tone for YA--and wanted to keep taking adventures long after the resolution closed. It's a fun and sweet read, with a collection of realistic characters whose details I wanted to discover and figure out further.

I really enjoyed this. Cole is facing his last few weeks of high school when he realises he has the ability to teleport. It just happened! One minute he was opening a door at school and the next minute he was at a museum on the edge of town.

And so his adventures begin.

Cole has to survive the last few weeks of school while discovering more about his new powers. He is going to cope with this by making lists and methodically working his way through things but this new and scary abilty is going to upset his well ordered world especially when it seems that there are people spying on him.

Anyway he might be able to survive this with the help of the people around him and his long term friends and especially the dreamy Malik. Cole has to discover all about himself. He is already seen as the weird gay nerd and he doesn't want to give any more fuel to those kids who like to ridicule him.

This was a really great adventure. Cole manages to be both courageous and vulnerable, especially as he tries to cope with his attraction to Malik and the fact that he needs to control his teleporting and discover why it seems as if he is umder surveillance. The story is written by one of my favourite authors so I knew it was going to be good even though I normally don't like to read YA stories.

This one is gripping and it is fun although there is a delicious frisson of darkness and the unknown that runs through the story. I kept wondering if Cole would be discovered and why he was being followed. The normal teen angst comes into the story as Cole deals with with love and attraction, the future and family relationships.

I really liked the way the story was inclusive with diverse characters, but not at all preachy in the way this is done. We just get a well rounded group of young people each looking forward to the next stage of their lives, however Cole's next stage is rather complicated.

I enjoyed reading this and I will definitely read any YA that is written by this author.

Copy provided by Bold Stroke Books via Netgalley in exchange for an unbiased review.

I absolutely loved this book. Loved it with all my heart. It was perfect ya and the characters were great and Burgiones writing style really shines through in this one

I really enjoyed this YA novel. There's a bit of all kinds of things in it - and all of them are positives for me!

Cole, the main character has really good relationships with parents and friends, a Rainbow Club at school with a fabulous variety of queerness therein, plans to study to work with his hearing impaired father as a sign language interpreter, there's also discussion of other choices for study/career/life (no pressure!), plus Malik his (requited!) crush who is (surprisingly) also gay, a sweet intelligent person and and an athletic 'jock' (going against stereotype, nice).

There's some tension between friends and standard school stuff to get on with, but all in all Cole's life seems to be ticking along rather nicely. Unfortunately, there's also that little habit he's suddenly developed of teleporting between doorways, seemingly at will, but with no idea how he's doing it or how to make it stop - and then he notices a sinister man hovering around staring at him all over the place....and now things just aren't going quite as smoothly!

I can honestly say, I think I enjoyed every aspect of 'Exit Plans for Teenage Freaks'. I liked the characters, the dynamics/relationships, the local cafe/game store and also the magical/ scifi aspect of the story. I'd recommend the novel to teens who like this kind of genre.

Something weird happened with my laptop and a lot of my downloads disappeared, including this and other Netgalley ARCs I had not yet gotten around to, but are now archived and not available to re-download... I am sadness

Ever had a dream where you’re suddenly in a public place with no clothes on?

That could very well be Cole’s reality when he suddenly gained the ability to teleport and he needed to get it under control fast! Teleportation is one of my top five must-have superpowers and like Cole, I’d have my fun with it too but we could all do without the creepy guys watching our every move.

The way teleportation was used in this book was closer to magic realism than full blown fantasy because it was hardly focused on majority of the book. It was more like just another skill Cole needed to work on on top of academics and art. At some points, it felt inconsequential on the face of the everyday events Cole and his friends dealt with. It even occurred to me, this subplot was just there to give the book an extra something because without it, it would simply be a typical LGBT-themed YA.

It took me a while to totally get into the story. It started slow for me then picked up when I was a third in. What I really enjoyed the most were the people and their relationships. I really loved Cole’s parents and I am happy to see a teenager who has a happy and contented relationship with his parents since many teenagers in books and movies seemed to complain about their parents. The Rainbow Club is a joy and even Grayson, the one they complained about, did good. Cole and Alec’s friendship are goals, Malik is a sweetheart and I want Candace in my corner. The representations were awesome and genuine. I think the only thing missing was a dog.

The story zooms back to the teleportation part on the last 30% of the book. Cole finally meet the creepy people face to face, did some gutsy moves then poof! it ended just when him and Malik were heading somewhere fun. I don’t know if the book has a sequel, I hope it does. The way things ended between them, I think he might hear from other teleporters in the future. Also, I want to go places with Cole and Malik.

Exit Plans for Teenage Freaks deals with a lot of things, from sexuality, growing up, career plans, disabilities to discovering you have superpowers. Some of these were well-developed and I particularly liked the inclusion of ASL in the novel, something the author knows first hand. Other aspects were either rushed or tossed around then left open such as Grayson and Alec’s conflict, Alec and Ben or that year-end party that was mentioned here and there but not shown. These asides and casual mentions reflects real life conversations but in a book, they’re kind of frustrating.

Another plus for me is that while the book is about a gay teen, it is not about coming out and all the LGBT+ teens were happy being themselves. Overall, I enjoyed the book and I think most people would also like the positive relationships, the diversity, and realistic portrayal of teenagers.

P.S.

I received a copy of Exit Plans For Teenage Freaks from Bold Strokes Books via Netgalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Rating:
3.5 Stars – that place between like and love

Soundtrack: Song About Teleportation
Artist: Wings of Love
Album: The Charming Ghost of Freedom

*4.25 Stars*

Cole is pretty busy. Between exams in two weeks, the Rainbow Club and his father training him to be an interpreter, he doesn't have time for nonsense. But life isn't very accommodating and has he goes out of the cafeteria, he ends ends miles away in a museum, then as he leaves the museum, he ends up in his locker. So, yeah, he can teleport, but it's not as time saving as one might think, when you can't control it, and when it makes him faint in the middle of the hallway.

I'm gonna be honest here and tell you that when I first saw this book on NetGalley, I was gutted. See, I had been writing my own book for a couple months then and it was about a queer teenage girl that could teleport. I could not believe I had been beaten to it.
But I checked myself and decided to read it. And I'm so glad I did. Mostly because the book was great but also because I realized our stories weren't so similar. Ok. That's enough about me, I'm gonna talk about the book now.

I really loved this story. The characters were very layered and so very interesting. I loved that it was after prom and really focused on the end of the year and exam preparations. I also loved the dynamics between the characters, whether it was the friendships or the budding romance. The rainbow club was everything and I loved the power aspects of it all too. I really loved the rules around it and how it all worked. The only thing that made it not perfect for me is that it felt too short, especially towards the end, I felt the story rushing itself and that was a damn shame. I would have liked it to take more time to resolve itself. Still, this was really good and I'll probably check out some other books by this author.

This jumps easily into my 10 most favorite YA books ever. It’s a perfect blend of queerness, mystery, teen stuff, and family (AND it’s super diverse). So nice.

I now have, yet another, YA MC that I would like to permanently make my best friend. Maybe Cole could straighten out my very type B personality.
He’s adorably nerdy and awkward in all the best ways and there are so many aspects of his life that I fell in love with. The supportive parents, the sign language, the jock/nerd trope subversion.
And the ability to transport anywhere just by walking through a door, who wouldn’t want that? Oh yeah, Cole. Because if he doesn’t pay attention, he will end up in inconvenient places.
Characters who start off shy or hesitant and then become fierce as soon as the person/people they love are in trouble are so close to my heart and Cole was no exception.
This book takes quite a few hot button issues (queer rep, POC/Interracial, and disabilities) and weaves them into the tale so it becomes an example of how to include these without sounding “preachy” or like an after school special on diversity.
Everyone is genuine. They aren’t placed there solely to be a rep for their particular issue. It was fun and fresh and I look forward to reading more from Burgoine.

Another great read from Nathan Burgoine! Where was a book like this when I was a teen?! I hope this is the first of a new series. highly recommend regardless of your age.

I wholeheartedly dislike this cover. Though I am very pleased to have went against my better judgement and gave this book a chance because the story was very entertaining. There balance of humor and action was very well executed, not overdone like I see in many similar books.

If you're looking for representation, you're going to find a ton of it here! We have a gay protagonist with a black bisexual love interest, a deaf father with sign language used a lot throughout the story, a circle of LGBTQ+ friends known as The Rainbow Club, which includes gay, lesbian, bi, pan, non-binary and asexual characters who all have fresh, believable dynamics.

In fact, this book's greatest strength is in its relationships between the characters. The romance felt so real, with Cole and Malik tiptoeing around each other as they each go on their own journeys of self discovery. The friendships were wonderful and realistically rocky at times, with history between certain group members that affects the entire group. It was really refreshing to read!

That being said, I did feel that the ending was incredibly rushed. Without spoiling anything, I'll just say that certain things are introduced far too late and things just get resolved very quickly, so yeah, the end was very underwhelming.

Overall, this book is a fun read. It's not your cliché gay teen coming ou story, which is nothing against those stories, of course, but it was a refreshing change to read a book from the perspective of a kid who is out and proud. I want to join The Rainbow Club!

Sci-fi (teleportation!) romance filled with TONS of queer rep- Yes, PLEASE.

I really enjoyed Exit Plans for Teenage Freaks by the very reliable Nathan Burgoine. Nathan instinctively knows how to get the right balance between action, humor, and romance, and he does it so well in this book.

I read Exit Plans for Teenage Freaks in one day (well, one day fused into one night because I stayed up way past my bedtime reading). I just couldn't put it down. I loved the diversity, the excitement, and the *squee*-factor of it all.

I loved how we got one POC MC, the other MC has a deaf father, and a whole group of friends that span the breadth of the queer spectrum. Plus, these kids were imperfect, impulsive kids, and I loved that in YA.

I really, really dug the premise of the story. At heart, I'm a huge sci-fi nerd, and the teleportation and the way it was described really intrigued me. I wanted to know MORE, and I actually wish we had a sequel or more meat to the sci-fi aspects of the story because I found them to be fascinating and under-explained.

I also liked the sweet romance, which was just getting going at the end of the story. I related to the awkward, excited, nervous feel of the beginning of their dynamic, and they were so adorable together by the end. Though, to be honest, I could have used a little more romance-y romance, but that's just my preference.

I think Exit Plans for Teenage Freaks will appeal to all YA fans. It was fun, funny, exciting and a whole lot more. Nathan Burgoine has a winner on his hands.

*Copy provided in exchange for an honest review*

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I really enjoyed this book and all of it’s queerness. I just felt like there was a bit of an inbalance between the transporting stuff and the every day stuff

Once I was fully immersed, I LOVED this book! Nathan Burgoine's writing skills are fully realized here in this wonderfully crafted and entertaining book. It has one of the most satisfying endings of any book I've read all year.

Growing up is hard. High School culture is hard. Coming out and coming of age are even harder. Burgoine perfectly captures all those elements, effortlessly, while keeping a positive view on the difficult experiences teenagers face.

I loved the wide range of unique characters: Cole, his father, Nat, Malik.... all bring idiosyncratic texture to the story. We are all different- all 'freaks'- in one way or another; whether we just feel like it or others view us as such. As most 'grownups' know: freaks are the best people in the world.

Believability is always important in a book like this and I bought in 100 percent. Add to that Burgoine's ability to encapsulate delicate issues in an upbeat manner, avoiding dark undertones, was completely refreshing.

A wonderful YA novel that I hope a lot of people will embrace. Very well done.

I received a copy from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I discovered author: Nathan Burgoine several years ago. I love his Triad Blood series. Also love Of Echoes Burn, Nathan's short story compilation. Is it possible Nathan's new book, Exit for Teenage Freaks is now my favorite book of his? It's rare I read a novel with a MC so clearly realized. Nathan writes Cole so 3-dimensionally, you swear you know him from the moment he speaks. That clarity along with a kick-ass story makes this my favorite YA novels for 2018. Nathan mixes Sci-Fi with budding male/male teen romance and the combination works perfectly. Love, love, love this book and of course the diverse group Cole calls friends makes for some exciting sequel possibilities. But even if this ends up being a stand-alone, Exit Plans for Teenage Freaks should be at the top of to-read lists for teens and adults alike.

It's best to go on this ride blind, in my opinion. However, I will say, simply put, this journey begins and ends with Cole; he narrates the entire slice of life/coming of age tale, so if you don't like him, you're probably not going to enjoy the book.

I loved him. I really did. He's adorkable with his lists and bullet journal and making up quirky names for people and love for Meeples which, P.S., is there a cuter name for a place? Every time I read the word even, I smiled. Cole is clever and funny and GAH! I just loved him.

His relationships with Malik and his parents pulled on my heartstrings. The jock/nerd trope was utilized splendidly. Malik is a jock but not a dumb jock nor is he mean. His protectiveness of Cole scored MAJOR brownie points with me. Burgoine captured that high school vernacular and style of interacting and made it amusing and relatable. The interactions between him and his parents were just funny. It was a breath of fresh air to not just have supportive parents but parents that are still in love with each other and don't mind torturing their offspring with it!

Cole's father is hearing impaired so they all sign. This was my first experience with reading signed dialogue and I was fascinated by the syntax of it. It was also soooooo cute how Cole signed letters when he was nervous. I appreciate those details in my reads.

This is a character-driven story with very little angst and a smooth writing style that is easy to get caught up in. The seamlessness of the inclusion was really impressive to me. Oftentimes it seems authors use diversity to show how "woke" they are which makes it feel contrived or forced. True, all of Cole's friends are queer but it still seemed like the natural order of things, that they were truly his friends which was evident on page rather than sticking an Asian person in here and jamming an ace person in there to meet some sort of tacit quota.

There wasn't a lot of conflict in this narrative but I found the action storyline balanced the narrative and filled my quotient of action/suspense. Above all, this story is fun and entertaining with solid world-building and an adorkable main character who I couldn't help but be charmed by. In all honesty, this is what I was looking for out of Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda and didn't get so thank you Mr. Burgoine for filling that void.

Overall, I found this to be a cozy and refreshing young adult read and would LOVE it if there were a follow up in the works.



An ARC was provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

So... this was pretty great, actually. It quite exceeded my expectations. It was adorable, and fun... I imagine that the author was like, I'm going to write the book I would have liked to read as a teenager, about who I would have liked to be as a teenager.

Cole learning to manage his totally un-wished-for, mostly unexplained powers, at the same time as he's figuring out romance as a gay teen, woven through with hilarious teenage angst.... is a complete win. Such a fun read.

Being the kid abducted by crazy old Ms. Easton when he was four permanently set Cole’s status to freak. At seventeen, his exit plan is simple: make it through the last few weeks of high school with his grades up and his head down.

When he pushes through the front door of the school and finds himself eighty kilometers away holding the door of a museum he was just thinking about, Cole faces facts: he’s either crazier than old Ms. Easton, or he just teleported. Now every door is an accident waiting to happen....

This was a super quick and fun read. I would recommend this book to young adults and adults. Being able to walk through a door to teleport somewhere would be a fantastic skill to have especially with commuting! I also enjoyed the interesting situations that Cole find's himself.

Thank you to netgalley for access in return for a review.