When the mayor of a small Alabama town starts targeting Pride events, bad boy Zeke begins hosting a series of “Pride Speakeasies” in this joyful queer coming-of-age!

There’s nothing Zeke Chapman wants more than to tarnish the perfect reputation his father is so obsessed with. He quit the baseball team, started fighting at school, and nearly flunked junior year. Newly out as gay, Zeke isn’t sure where his queer identity fits in with his bad-boy persona. His father has always told him to stay quiet and not attract attention, but his friends are pushing him to be just as out and proud as they are. Most days, Zeke isn’t sure how to be a “good gay” or what that even means.

When his best friend, Sawyer, begs him to help the QSA plan Pride Day, he obliges—mostly to piss his dad off. But then the mayor announces an ordinance that cancels all LGBTQ+ celebrations. Angered by the injustice—and his father’s support of it—Zeke decides to put his rebellious ways to good use and plans a series of underground “Pride Speakeasies”.

As the speakeasies grow, and the community comes together to declare him “King of Pride”, Zeke finally feels like he’s doing something that matters. But friendship drama, a mysterious cyber-crush, and rising tension with his rival and ex Cohen “Coco” Fisher threaten to undermine his newfound pride. When his final party ends in near-disaster, Zeke must ask himself what he’s really trying to do. After all, there’s a reason that the first pride was a riot.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Delacorte Press for the early copy of Hubbard’s sophomore novel! I had the opportunity to read and review his debut as well (which I loved) and I can confidently say that this author has yet another success on his hands. With plenty of hope to share in a tumultuous time— both in between the pages and outside of the novel itself— The Rebel’s Guide to Pride is a rallying cry to all of us who are saddened and scared by the current state of the world. It teaches us how to be brave and bold and exist outside of the box that ‘powerful’ people, our own families, or even we ourselves try to shove us in.

We follow Zeke (formerly Anthony) Chapman as he navigates his way through his parents’ messy divorce. Losing his father means gaining the ability to be himself for the first time… and it feels daunting. How can he be a ‘good gay’ when he has kept his true self in a shoebox for most of his young life? He tries to follow in the footsteps of his best friend, Sawyer, who has been out and proud for years. What he learns, however, is that pride is something you must instill within yourself.

A wrench is thrown in the gears of this process as the mayor of Zeke’s small Alabama town starts the ‘Family First’ initiative that will, at least outwardly, silence the thriving LGBTQ+ community of Beggs. Zeke has two choices— lay down and be shoved back into the strange shape he became trying to fit in, or to raise his voice and inspire the gays and allies around him to do the same. When he chooses the latter, he not only finds the courage to become more than the Zasshole he was, but also falls into and explores relationships that threaten to change his life forever.

As a pansexual woman who came out later in life, I both relate to and envy Zeke. I know what it’s like to be stuffed into a category that does not fit me, and how an outwardly disapproving father can absolutely tear you down and leave you in a state of perpetual imposter syndrome. I also wish I had been able to be myself at a young age with the support system I have now. Like Zeke, I have my mom, my friends, and the beautiful likeminded people of my community. Even so, we are in a state of emergency with our current administration. So the love that I feel is quickly being overrun by hate, but it’s works like Hubbard’s that gives me hope for the future. I will hold on to Zeke’s story as a light in the dark.

5/5 stars