MY MOST EXCELLENT YEAR
​
Novel Rationale: My Most Excellent Year by Steve Kluger (Published by Speak, 2008)
Summary: Told in alternating perspectives between the three main characters, this novel documents T.C., his self-proclaimed brother Augie, and their new friend Alé’s freshman year of high school. The plot focuses on the three characters’ future aspirations (becoming a politician, choreographer, and dancer respectively) as well as how they navigate both their family situations and the rigors of high school life. Ultimately, the novel juggles how these three characters work towards their goals and start to discover their own individual identities and interests while falling in love—T.C. with Alé and Augie (who is the only one who doesn’t know he is gay) with the endearing Andy Wexler.
Themes:
Friendship
Bildungsroman/ Coming of Age
Coming Out
Gay
Romance
Identity
Relationships
​
Connection to the Curriculum: The writing of My Most Excellent Year is an effective blend of comedy and heartache which encompasses a wide audience. It is presented in a variety of formats—including everything from journal entries, to IM conversations, to playbills and cast lists—which at once breaks up the narration and also lends a sense of cohesiveness that holds the novel together despite the three different character perspectives. This would lend nicely to discussions about novel form and structure. This is not only a novel with an effective voice that engages readers no matter what their world views may be, but also provides a useful way to look at the construction of a novel itself as it challenges the ideas of prose by adding other media that enhances it. Also, whereas romance is a major theme, it is not the classic arc of other novels that focus solely on getting the characters together and having them consummate their relationship. While this does eventually occur, the dynamics of each relationship is more complex, centered in real life rather than having a fairy-tale-like quality. In other words, the novel does not simply end when the romantic relationships are established—rather, it ends when each T.C., Augie, and Alé have discovered what futures they wish to pursue for themselves, based on their individual interests and talents.
​
A Note on the Text: (The best way to evaluate and understand a novel is to personally read the book in its entirety)
As part of T.C.’s remarkable characteristic of being able to share his love freely with a variety of people, his back story involves the early death of his mother. This is told only in flashbacks, but may still be disturbing to some audiences.
