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Jay Bell

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Pride High : Book 1 - Red Kindle Edition

by Jay Bell (Author) Format: Kindle Edition

4.7 326 ratings

Book 1 of 3: Pride

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The Pride series is intended for mature teenagers and nostalgic adults who enjoy sex-positive stories, realistic relationships, and gorgeous guys.

What’s it like growing up in the 90s? Let’s ask the students of Pride High:

Anthony Cullen: My life would be perfect if I wasn’t in the closet. And in love with my straight best friend. Do you think he’ll ever notice me?

Omar Jafari: I’m flunking out of most of my classes, but hey, a girl talked to me. And she’s like… insanely pretty! So maybe I should stop secretly hooking up with a dude.

Silvia Diaz: Listen, my parents are undocumented, so I don’t have time to worry about boys. Or girls. Or which I like more. Wait, this isn’t going to be published, is it?

Cameron Huxley: I’m ready to meet my soul mate. Whoever he is. And when we find each other, we’re going to come out and show the world what true love looks like!

Mindy Beaumont: I wish my life was more like a gay romance novel. I’ve never even kissed a boy. Ugh!

Ricky Nishikawa: I’m starting freshman year in a new town. If that wasn’t bad enough, I keep getting picked on by a bully. And he’s really really hot.

Pride High: Book 1 kicks off a new series filled with LGBT voices, endearing friendships, and endless love.

From the Publisher

My life inspires my stories!

"When I was a teenager and still in the closet, I thought I'd never find the sort of love I dreamt about. Coming out changed everything. I eventually met a handsome guy from Germany who was visiting the US as an exchange student. His accent was adorable, his heart was kind, and his muscles were impressive, so I fell quick and hard. We've been married for over twenty years now. He continues to inspire me. I want other people to experience that kind of love through my stories!" -Jay Bell

Jay Bell

I write hot gay books that will break your heart.

Jay Bell writes from his home in Chicago where he lives with his husband and three cats. His best-selling book, Something Like Summer, spawned a series of heart-wrenching novels, a musically driven movie, and a lovingly drawn comic. He has since gone on to write other emotional and yet hopelessly optimistic stories about boys in love. When not crafting imaginary worlds, he occupies his free time with animals, art, action figures, and—most ardently—his husband Andreas.

Fan favorite books:

Straight Boy
Something Like Summer
Kamikaze Boys
Out of Time, Into You


	Something Like Summer	Pride High	Out of Time, Into You	Straight Boy	Kamikaze Boys	The Cat in the Cradle
	See Details	See Details	See Details	See Details	See Details	See Details
Customer Reviews	2,811	326	428	922	672	140
Price	$4.99	$4.99	$5.99	$5.99	$5.99	$4.99
Genre	Gay Romance	High School Romance	M/M Romance	Coming of Age	New Adult Romance	Gay Fantasy
Summary	A secret love affair in high school continues to haunt the hearts of two men whose relationship changes each time they meet.	Retro charm, timeless drama! Join a group of LGBT teens in the 90s as they navigate love, identity, and life's crazy hurdles.	A young man is swept back in time to the 1950s where he falls head over heels for a special guy. But can their love survive in a bygone era?	A gay teenager crushes hard on his straight but secretive best friend. Can they find happiness together despite their differences?	Two outcasts find comfort in each other's arms and decide to take on the injustices of the world, walking a dangerous line to do so.	A young man sets off into the world with his talking cat to find the guy who broke his heart while also dodging deadly wizards.
Part of Series?	✓	✓	X	X	X	✓

Editorial Reviews

Review

Jay Bell is an auto-buy author for me. It started with Something like Summer, and from that point on, I have read every word of the Something Like... series and have listened to just about all of them. Jay Bell is such a great writer that you become invested in his characters."
~Kathie, The Novel Approach on Something Like Lightning

"The [Something Like...] series pushes all the right buttons for me. Every. Single. One. I can't get enough of this world and the characters that live in it. It really is my ideal type of story."
~Breann, Boy Meets Boy Reviews on Something Like Spring

"Jay Bell has written one of the most heart-felt and sincere M/M romances I have ever encountered. This is a love story that spans twelve years - a story all about getting a second chance with 'the one that got away'."
~ALPHA reader on Something Like Summer

"The true beauty of this series is how Bell draws us in, makes us feel for the characters, and maintains a strong sense of continuity in terms of places and characters, thus making us feel like we are a part of their lives."
~Jason, Joyfully Jay on Something Like Spring

"It had been a long time since a book's characters made me almost forget they were fictional and inspired in me a desire to be a part of their world."
~Nicholas Kralev, Huffington Post on Something Like Summer

"With Something Like Summer, Jay Bell has created a space where love and romance; grief, understanding and change all resonate with the reader, whether gay or straight, much in the same way Annie Proulx did in Brokeback Mountain."
~Raant Magazine on Something Like Summer

"Author Jay Bell wows us once again with his consummate storytelling, his impeccable characterization, and his superior ability to weave a remarkably sweet and lyrical love story."
~ Sammy, Joyfully Jay on Kamikaze Boys

"Jay's grasp of creating emotional atmospheres in his stories is phenomenal. His words reach inside of me, invoking emotions, almost before I know I feel them."
~Lena Grey, Rainbow Books Reviews on Something Like Lightning

"The dialogue is witty and real, the emotion raw and deep. I'm in love with every character in these stories -- they feel like family. I've learned so much from these books and, trite as it may sound, I now have a deeper appreciation for love and life. Excellent."
~Sara, Amazon customer on Something Like Rain

Product details

ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0B72HCKFP
Publisher ‏ : ‎ (September 27, 2022)
Publication date ‏ : ‎ September 27, 2022
Language ‏ : ‎ English
File size ‏ : ‎ 5071 KB
Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
Print length ‏ : ‎ 412 pages

Best Sellers Rank: #98,699 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)
- #13 in LGBTQ+ Coming of Age Fiction (Books)
- #753 in Gay & Lesbian (Kindle Store)
- #759 in Coming of Age Fiction (Kindle Store)

Customer Reviews:
4.7 326 ratings

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Jay Bell

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Jay Bell is a proud gay man and the award-winning author behind dozens of emotional and yet hopelessly optimistic stories. His best-selling book, Something Like Summer, spawned a series of heart-wrenching novels, a musically driven movie, and a lovingly drawn comic. When not crafting imaginary worlds, he occupies his free time with animals, art, action figures, and—most passionately—his husband Andreas. Jay is always dreaming up new stories about boys in love. If that sounds like your cup of tea, you can get the kettle boiling by visiting www.jaybellbooks.com.

Customer reviews

4.7 out of 5

326 global ratings

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Scotty

This was absolutely the best youth book I've ever read!

Reviewed in the United States on December 6, 2023

Verified Purchase

First, I am not a young man by any means! I selected this his book to read as I have God children and wanted to be able to relate to them and the things that go on in a high school that they are facing on a daily basis! Many things were different in my high school and where lived. Alternate lifestyle were not expressed or accept nor could you find others like your own self to communicate or hang out with! Mr Jay Bell you have out done yourself I loved everything in this book. You made me, laugh, cry , understand and be proud of the characters that you have brought to life. This needs to be a Netflix or Amazon prime show! Listen up streamers this story need to not only be told in the great writing of this auth

Reviewed in the United States on March 23, 2024

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This book started slower than most books I’ve read recently, but the character development is unmatched and truly builds to an enticing story. I’ve read all of Jay Bell’s “Something Like” series and am so excited to continue on with the “Pride High” series.

Reviewed in the United States on December 28, 2022

Verified Purchase

One of my favorite things about Jay Bell is the way he writes characters. Pride High is chockful of another great group of them. Pride High is a high school set story about a group of friends, who work through their friendships and relationships, bringing new friends into their circle, in the 1990's. Even though the first book is set in the 90's, Jay bell does an excellent job of shining a light on events that teenagers are dealing with currently, and making his characters relatable and real. I really felt for all the characters as they fell in love, made friends, felt alone, and all the emotions that come from being a teenager.

Reviewed in the United States on November 5, 2023

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Book 1 is great. Starts off in September 1992 in Pride Kansas with a group of Sophomores, Anthony, Omar, Ricky, Cameron, Silvia and Mindy all in a rotating POV. Almost reads like first person and easily sweeps you in with some fun events right away. Could not put it down. I'm off to download book 2. So impressed by Jay Bell for a lot of years now.

Helpful

Dana Piazzi

Took me back to my high school days

Reviewed in the United States on March 24, 2024

Verified Purchase

I generally like reading books focused on one to two main characters but I have like so many of thus authors books that I wanted to give this one a try. It was very nostalgic listening to this story because I myself was in high school during the early 90's.

Every character in this story ended up touching my heart. I know when I was in school I didn't know any out students so it didn't surprise me that some of these guys were closeted. I felt for them and feel relieved that things are a little better these days. Mostly, anyway.

I can't wait to read/listen to the next book in this series.

Helpful

Andrew

Memories of high school

Reviewed in the United States on April 28, 2024

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I remember what it was like in high school. Being bullied. Being gay but always trying to hide it. To where I dated girls throughout high school cause it was what society and what I thought family would want especially my dad. Since I was the oldest in the house and whatnot. This book made me think of my own struggles in life and my own acceptance of myself and finally coming to terms that I am who I am and I'm ok with that. Can't wait for the other books

Helpful

Guy Venturi

Welcome to Pride, where being gay is habit-forming

Reviewed in the United States on September 15, 2023

Verified Purchase

Pride High may be an imaginary school and City, located close to Kansas City. Yet many of the places and streets exist in the real Kansas City, MO and Kansas City, KS metropolitan area. It was an exciting adventure to get flashbacks to the many places mentioned, even if they have changed considerably in my lifetime.

I grew up just a couple of blocks East of the Westport area, living at 3 different houses just South of 39th Street on the Missouri side. I lived a very crazy life growing up and working many jobs to get my education after high school at the McGee and Westport early campuses for the Metropolitan Community College as the school grew throughout the city. These two initial campuses were replaced by Penn Valley in Penn Valley Park, near the Liberty Memorial and Union Station. I rode my bicycle all around the city. I worked for Hallmark Cards, Crown Center, hospitals, shopping centers, schools, warehouses, office buildings, manufacturing, utilities, apartment buildings, hotels, residences, KCI Airport terminal buildings and control tower, restaurants, Worlds of Fun, Royals Stadium, Chiefs Stadium, and even underground storage caves in the KC area doing engineering design for many major construction projects. Helping the city grow made me feel a part of the city.

The characters may be Imaginary, but the situations and challenges they faced are very real and made me feel if I was right there with them. I would not recommend using the street names and locations without checking maps as there are discrepancies between the two Kansas Cities with street names, but since the city of Pride is fictional, or at least not among the almost a hundred small towns and communities that used to exist around the Kansas City area with many being absorbed into the city by growth surrounding them or merging.

Kansas City has a lot of parks, boulevards, green areas, and cruising areas still, but fewer than when I was growing up. I spent many hours in the Westport Public Library on Westport Road, one of my favorite places growing up.

I take pride in Kansas City and my experiences there are amazing. I still try to help young adults find their potential in life by paying attention to all the opportunities to learn and make their lives better for themselves and their communities.

Reading, researching, studying, questioning, talking, walking, visiting, asking, and sharing can make life so much more interesting and rewarding.

Helpful

Grayce Connors

Pleasant and Well Meaning

Reviewed in the United States on March 22, 2024

Verified Purchase

Sort of a “Sweet Valley High” for the non-het set, this story tries to pack a lot of happenings into one series setup. A lack of thorough character development however eventually makes wish one wish it were over about halfway through. Despite this, the intention is so earnest and well meaning that you completely hate it. I know there’s an audience out there that will absolutely love this book (and presumably its sequels) for while it is certainly a pleasant enough read, I prefer a little more meat on my plate.

Helpful

Top reviews from other countries

A. Johannes

Brilliant read!

Reviewed in Canada on September 28, 2022

Verified Purchase

I really loved the Something Like... series and after re-reading those 7 books, and - I'm tempted to say, fallen in love with those characters again, but I don't think I'd fallen out of love so... I found the 3 books of short stories, and was so grateful and then grieving when they ended. And then this. One could start here without reading anything else and then embark on what looks like it's going to be a grand adventure. Bell is a great writer I think - I love the way he structures his sentences and paragraphs (I keep wanting to show my students), his characters are so interesting and his plot moves from event to event - some tiny and domestic but important to the characters and some more cataclysmic and transformational. He unhesitantly tackles hard issues like LGBTQ teen suicide and, in this book, undocumented immigrants. LGBTQ teen suicide is familiar to me and I appreciated the realism of one person's perspective on their attempt and the responses of the people around them. I've never read such a profound story about how a community gathers around a person when they understand he's hurting. It made me hopeful. But undocumented immigrants is something I know nothing about, really, and I really felt like I understood how the issues around it affect a young person and their family in a whole new way. But this makes it sound like the book has heavy content and really it's all so much fun and so interesting - a really masterful mix. I am now 65 and so the issues of youth are way behind me and I appreciate how he's created a whole world of understanding and empathy and relatable surprises. My favourite thing from the Something Like... books is that he's kind of erased the barrier between life and after-life in this lovely, believable way - a whole new cosmology. That hasn't happened in this book yet but perhaps it will :) Do read it, give it to young people, share it with teachers. I wish I taught a class where I could assign this as a reading but in the meantime I got extra copies for some students who tell me they don't like to read. Also check out Jay Bell's Patreon - wow what a hard working guy!

One person found this helpful

Francis B

J'en redemande! Some more please !

Reviewed in France on February 26, 2023

Verified Purchase

Émouvant! Passionnant! Et tellement vrai... It made me smile... and cry too... I found peaces of myself in Anthony or Cameron or Ricky ! Thank you Jay !

Ryan

Jay Bell has done it again!

Reviewed in Canada on September 28, 2022

Verified Purchase

Excellent new title from Jay Bell! If you’ve read and enjoyed the Something like … series and even if you haven’t you’ll love this new cast of characters and stories. I really enjoyed the multiple points of view the story is told from.

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Pride High : Book 1 - Red Kindle Edition

From the Publisher

My life inspires my stories!

Jay Bell

I write hot gay books that will break your heart.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Product details

Videos

About the author

Jay Bell

Customer reviews

Top reviews from the United States

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Top reviews from other countries