We Give Support, Not Advice
Jefferson High School’s first LGBTQ support group is created after a student dies by suicide. As the new school year begins, six students join the group and sit in a circle every Monday afternoon—sometimes in silence, sometimes in heated dialogue—sharing pieces of their lives.
Denice is the leader who wants to protect everyone; Vivian’s feeling like an outsider because of her asexual identity; Angel’s a rebel who can’t bear the thought of coming out to his mom; Finn’s an introvert whose parents made them leave after coming out as trans; Johnny’s an outgoing performer dealing with his parents’ divorce; and Lexie’s an ally, just here to support.
As the students begin to discover different facets of their identities, they grapple with a lot of questions: How can we best support someone through a difficult time? What does it mean to share affinity when we don’t share the same identities? And what does it really mean to be a member of the queer community?
Praise for We Give Support, Not Advice
Using gorgeous poetic verse, Matty Bennett brilliantly captures the stories of a group of queer teens reconciling their dreams with reality. It’s a book I wish I had access to during my formative years. We Give Support, Not Advice is timely, pertinent and essential for our LGBTQ+ youth. — Emanuel Xavier, author & activist
“We Give Support, Not Advice is a quick, engaging, and important read. Matty Bennett’s novel-in-verse takes a diverse group of characters, puts them in a room, and lets them tell their own story in a voice that is both accessible and lyrical. “Despite our fragments, we are / whole…” the students tell us. And we believe them. At its core, We Give Support, Not Advice is both a difficult and hopeful read. A necessary book in these times. — Jamie Beth Cohen, author of Wasted Pretty
“The characters in Matty Bennett’s novel-in-verse encapsulate the nuances of queerness—the awkwardness, the fury, the tenderness. It’s a book I wish I had in high school, a time when I desperately needed queer camaraderie, especially in my grief. In We Give Support, Not Advice, “we are reminded why we exist.” — Lisa Summe, author of Say It Hurts
Matty Bennett is the author of What Are the Men Writing in the Sugar?, his debut poetry collection (2021) also from Queer Mojo, an imprint of Rebel Satori Press. Bennett received his MFA in poetry from Virginia Tech & his BA in English from Syracuse University. His work has appeared or been reviewed in Juked, The Gay & Lesbian Review Worldwide, Homology Lit, Cardiff Review, Philadelphia Gay News, and others. He is currently an English teacher and track coach in Providence, RI.
