As an educator currently battling with state and local governments removing books from classrooms due to “inappropriate” content that is in no way inappropriate, I felt this book harder than I should have.

However, nobody can make you feel the way Phil Stamper can make you feel. This is an excellent book about a middle school boy who is coming to terms with who he is and how he can support others in his community. Kids need representation like this.

Claribel Ortega blurbed this book and said it is "a queer Footloose for the middle grade crowd"--so, I was already on board before I picked up this absolute gem of a book. A great read!

I kept rooting for Jake throughout the book. It really had a small town feel. It made me think, even after I was done reading it.

This was so so cute. I really loved seeing our MC grapple with what Pride meant for him and how to embrace it in an environment that was set on stifling him.

I am amazed at the vitriol spewed from adults at children in this story, and I wish it wasn't realistic but it hurt my heart.

The big downfall of this for me was actually the narrator. The MC is supposed to be like 12 or something and the narrator doesn't do any justice to that fact, not to mention the horrible voices for the best friend and love interest. I don't know what he was thinking but it drew me out of the story a bit.

I eventually just sped up the book enough that I was able to power through, but I couldn't have handled it for the entirety of the story at anything slower than 2.0x speed.

Small Town Pride is a fantastic middle-grade queer novel. This tackle issues such as homophobia and being accepted in your community as a minority. Stamper captures the loneliness of not being sure you will be accepted for who you are but he also fills the story with so much hope. This is a book that I think should be in every library. I think so many teens will connect with this story whether they are figuring out who they are or learning to stand up for what they believe in.

Thank you to HarperCollins and NetGalley for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This was a really cute book that tackled homophobia, community, and friendship. It's everything that makes middle grade books fun reads, and ultimately a sweet and heartwarming story.

This is a really good middle-grade queer novel. The writing is accessible and doesn’t get in the way of telling the story. It doesn’t talk down to the reader, which is very important to middle-grade reads. I also loved the fake Stardew Valley game that Jake plays and references through the book, I love nods like that to real life games. I’d recommend this for any middle-grade library. Four and a half stars, rounded up for NetGalley/Goodreads.

I am so grateful for the opportunity to read this book early. This book made me think about what it would be like to be in a small town.I really appreciated the character development and processing. The book made me want to keep turning the pages. I am so incredibly grateful for the early opportunity to read this one!

This is one of my favorite late middle grade, early YA reads this year. Stamper captures both the loneliness of being unsure of whether you'll be accepted for who you are, while also filling the story with hope, friendship, and the warmth that comes from family that gets you. I think there are many teens who will connect with this story, whether they are figuring out who they are, learning to stand up for what they believe, or just want a heart-warming story of a teen like them.

Utterly wonderful!! A great queer middle-grade that I'm so glad exists! I loved the plot, representation, themes, and characters.

Small Town Pride, by Phil Stamper, is the story of Jake and his experiences being his authentic self in the small town of Barton Springs, Ohio. Jake’s family and friends are genuinely supportive, if sometimes over-the-top (surprise -- Dad’s flying a giant rainbow flag in front of your house!). The details of small-town life are accurately portrayed and give depth and a sense of place to the setting; anyone who has lived in a rural town the size of Barton Springs will recognize the descriptions of people, places, and events. The townspeople’s efforts to resist change and marginalize individuals seen as ‘different’ are presented in a realistic manner, yet with empathy for the struggle to adjust their thinking. The difficulty of reconciling the possibility that Brett could be gay with the reality that Brett’s mother, the mayor, is leading the city council’s efforts to ban the Pride festival brings believable tension to the story. Throughout the book, a well-crafted support network gives the reader many examples of how to be an ally. The author keeps us cheering for Jake and his friends in this relatable and relevant story.

Small town pride by phil stamper was just a cute ya middle grade contemporary novel I needed for the summertime! It was so heartwarming and cute that I was smiling from ear to ear, I hope Phil writes more book becasue I really loved this one! Phil stamper is an autobuy author for me now! 5/5 stars

The world needs more books like this! I identify so strongly with Jake, it's a bit unsettling. I also grew up in a small town (population less than 1000 ppl). I didn't know a gay person until high school and even then they were considered a spectacle, not someone to embrace or be. I wasn't brave enough to come out until college and, since returning to my hometown, feeling accepted and staying out and proud has not be easy.

As an educator in this small community I want to ensure that my students know they are seen and accepted by not only by myself, but by their community. I've asked for this book to be added to our district's approved reading list, but they're hesitant to add anything "too political" or "too progressive." WhIle NJ as a whole boasts of its inclusive curriculum, many schools (especially in rural South Jersey) face homophobic/transphobic community backlash.

I strongly recommend this book to absolutely everyone-- to all parents, teachers, pastors, coaches, mentors of young queer people -- especially those who've wondered what's it's like to be queer in a small town, to understand the inner turmoil, the public & not-so-public hate.

You know when you read a book and you get that warm and fuzzy feeling inside and you just think: man, this is such an important read? That's how I felt reading Small Town Pride. I can only imagine how important this book may be to young queer kids as they are discovering themselves and what it means to have pride in their identities; especially if they live in a town (or village) that makes it difficult to live out and proud as themselves.

Jake is just a small-town kid who enjoys playing his favorite game, Songbird Hollow (which I can only assume is the equivalent to Stardew Valley in our world) and hanging out with his best friend Jenna. That is until he comes out to his parents and his dad errects a large pride flag in their front yard in support of his son. This sparks some debate amongst their neighbors, particularly from the village mayor who lives just across the street. Jake is now thrust into the light as 'the first out gay kid' in his town, wether he likes it or not. But buoyed by his online persona in Songbird Hollow, Jake wonders if it's possible to make his little village a little more open and accepting and decides to plan the village's very first pride parade. Him and his planning committee face many obstacles, including cute boy across the street, Brett's, mayoral mother who does NOT like to rock the boat and governs the town council with an iron fist. Will Jake and his group of underdogs manage to be victories, or will small-town folk stuck in their ways manage to get them down?

This was such a great read and a middle grade to be enjoyed by all ages. I highly recommend picking Small Town Pride up and maybe passing it along to a middle schooler in your life too.

phil stamper remains quite solid in their first middle grade book! i liked the representation, but at times the writing did not feel like the voice of a kid/young teen.

Such a cute and important story set in a small town and with a very young main character. This is directed to a middle grade audience but everyone can enjoy this. It will give you a bit of hope, maybe it'll make you smile or it'll make you sad. It will be relatable or it'll just make you cheer for these kids and their goal to host pride in their small and quite queer phobic town when a rainbow flag put on display by a very enthusiastic father will start a chain of events that will change everything.

Thanks to Netgalley and Harper Collins Childrens for the ARC of this! I switched back and forth between that and the audiobook from my library.

This was the perfect middle grade Pride Month read, with lots of feels and a happy ending. I loved that the main character's parents were so supportive, but that we see a side character with unsupportive parents because a lot of kids might not have those supportive parents - I know I didn't. While it makes me so sad, it also helps work through those feelings if it is something you are experiencing. I also really enjoyed the video game world that was described, it sounded like a great escape. Jake was lucky to have supportive friends at his back, but the book didn't shy away from showing allies falling short of true allyship.. Perfect for fans of Ashley Herring Blake, this is the kind of middle grade book I wish I'd had when I was a tween.

Part of Big Gay Fiction Podcast episode 381:

Jeff: So, before we get to this week’s interview, I want to take a moment to review a book that is actually perfect for this episode as we start Pride month. Phil Stamper has had a great 2022 so far. You may recall, Will give a rave review to his YA book “Golden Boys” a few weeks back in episode 376.

Will: Loved it! Loved it! Loved it.

Jeff: I believe you called it the book of the summer.

Will: And I stand by that declaration.

Jeff: Now I’m going to give you a rave on Phil’s first middle-grade book, “Small Town Pride.” Like I said, I really can’t think of a book more appropriate for this Pride month.

And this is one that begs to be read, not just by middle school age kids, but really by everyone as it gets to the core of what’s going on in conservative towns and states across the country. While this book can yank on your heartstrings, make no mistake, it’s full of joy and hope and tells the story about a young man, his friends and family, that show a town and what it means to have Pride and to embrace diversity.

Eighth grader Jake has come out to a few friends and to his family, but his dad really pushes everything over the top when he raises a giant progressive Pride flag in their front yard. They happen to have a flagpole already, and dad is really a fan of oversized flags. And so, this was a great opportunity for him to raise a flag and support his son.

Of course, now this means that everybody knows, and Jake isn’t sure how he feels about that. He starts to see that while he loves Barton Springs, not everyone is thrilled with the flag or the fact that he’s gay. He’s seen other instances of the town behaving in this way, too, such as when the mayor had all of the Black Lives Matter signs removed from people’s yards.

Jake likes to compare his village… and that’s what a town as small as Barton Springs is by the way, population 2000 in the state of Ohio. So, they’re called the village. He compares this town a lot to the village in the farming game that he loves called Songbird Hollow. In the game you can love whoever you want. And Jake is planning to propose to his in-game boyfriend, Peter, as soon as he can gather enough gold shells to make a ring. The in-game village is supportive of all of its residents, unlike what Jake is seeing right now in his real life.

Now, besides his parents, there are definitely people who support him and the flag and that includes his best friend and next-door neighbor, Jenna. And he gets an unexpected bit of support from Brett, who is the mayor’s son who happens to live across the street. They decide what the town needs is a Pride festival. Other small towns have them, so why can’t Barton Springs? Except in Barton Springs, the pushback is massive.

As Jake, Jenna, and Brett plan to make a presentation to the town council to get a permit, a mistake is made on who finds out about the plan a little too early, which means that the mayor catches wind of it. She is up for re-election, and she starts putting roadblocks up for the event before it can even get to the council to vote.

The mayor is also putting extra pressure on Brett to be perfect in school, perfect when he attends events with her. And, of course, she wants him to have no part of what’s happening with the festival and not even hang around Jake. This makes it difficult for Jake and Brett to see if maybe there’s more between them than just friendship.

I have to say that Phil does an incredible job with Jake. Like I said, Jake loves his village, but as he starts to see the hate spill out from villagers, who are sure that there are no people like that in their village, and to the mayor’s efforts to kill the festival, and how some people can’t even be trusted or won’t stand up for him, he begins to wonder if he could stay in Barton Springs or if he’ll end up moving away for an inclusive and likely larger city.

One of the lines that really struck me and has stayed with me from this book comes from Jake’s thoughts after the council has voted no on the festival. He thinks this, “Hateful people are everywhere. I know that. But couldn’t they just shut up for a minute? Why did they always have to have the last say when it comes to celebrating people who are different than them?

The haters do always seem louder don’t they, for whatever reason.

Now, Phil surrounds Jake with a loving mother and father who, even while they’re a little overenthusiastic, are truly amazing. Jenna and Brett are also great. Jenna honestly is the best friend that everybody needs. And she’s got a great story going on here as well as she learns how to play the symbols to get closer to a boy that she likes. And let me tell you, there’s nothing quite like learning a musical instrument just to get near somebody that you want to like. Her story is really a lot of fun in the book. But what she’s doing also causes a bit of friction because Jake is so caught up in what’s going on with him, that he’s not paying as much attention as he should to what Jenna needs from him.

And then there’s Brett and this friendship slash crush that’s developing between him and Jake. Brett is under so much pressure from his mom that he’s failing classes. He’s being very scattered. But through it all, he and Jake have some really nice moments and they really kind of ground each other, which is really nice. And just watching their burgeoning, whatever it’s going to be between these two middle schoolers, it’s really magical to see what goes on with them.

Now, of course, this book gets a happy ending, though I’m not going to tell you how they pull off the festival. You’ll have to read that for yourself. But I really loved it and how so many people pulled together to make it happen for Jake and for the town. And to let the residents of Barton Springs know that they did, in fact, support diversity, or at least most of them did.

Phil’s written at a really incredible book here, and I expect that so many young people are going to find themselves in Jake and how he tries to find his place among his friends and in the town that he lives in. And really trying to figure out, even at 13, if it’s a place that he might be able to stay and raise a family of his own.

I think this is really such an important book for young people. And really, like I said, at the beginning, I think it’s an important book for everyone to read because it captures how difficult society can be for LGBTQ+ youth today. And it also gives us a story of hope and love, which means it should definitely be on your Pride month reading list. I am so happy I could review this book to kick off Pride month. It really shows how one person, including a young person, can create change to fight against homophobia and injustice, and push for inclusion to create happiness, love, and joy.

Fans of Stamper will be quietly excited with his latest novel. Jake is a solid main character and there are enough twists to keep the story moving forward. It gives a fresh look at what pride means and addresses what it means to come out at a young age.

Phil Stamper is becoming one of my favorite authors. Small Town Pride was adorable but also meaningful. This is a story about a boy who is already out, so it is not a coming out story but more of a finding acceptance in a small town journey. The main character, Jake and his friends decide that they want to hold a pride parade in their small town. They must fight against the mayor and essentially 2/3 of their parents, never mind the rest of the town. I love that Jake's family is so accepting of him and the dichotomy between his situation and Bretts family dynamic. I would definitely recommend this title and feel it is great as. middle grade and also for a Young adult audience.