Did you guys know that books have trailers now? Apparently, they’re popping up more and more in this wild internet age, but I didn’t know about them until I saw the following trailer for Sugarless, James Magrudger’s new coming-of-age novel about a gay Midwestern teenager in the 1970s.

Since Magruder is my friend, I was going to read Sugarless anyway, but I see how the trailer could be an effective marketing tool for someone who hadn’t heard of the book. After all, it does  lay out the story’s major hook: After he joins his high school speech club, a teenager both discovers his self-confidence and has an affair with a grown-ass man. Will the results be sexy? Funny? Speech clubby? Why, you’ll have to read the book!

Of course… I have read the book, and after the jump, I’ll explain why I liked it so much.

For one thing, Sugarless is not only about a boy’s first gay relationship, but also about a boy losing his mother to a belief system. At the same time that young Rick is falling for Ned, a local speech team coach, his mother is hardcore falling for Jesus. She becomes a full-tilt Evangelical in just a few weeks, which means that while Rick reevaluates his sense of himself, he must also reevaluate his sense of his mother. The novel opens with vivid descriptions of how close they used to be, so we know exactly what they’re losing, even as they’re ostensibly changing into happier people.

By putting Rick’s sexual awakening next to his mother’s religious conversion, Magruder asks challenging questions about both: When we live the life we want, what do we ask of the people around us? Are we being selfish? Hurtful? If so, is that okay?

These are juicy ideas, and Magruder’s dry style makes them more satisfying. He never begs us to feel things: He just artfully tells his story and counts on us to draw conclusions.

That approach is valuable in the sections about Rick’s relationship with Ned. Magruder doesn’t try to convince us that Ned’s an evil pederast, but he doesn’t say his relationship with Rick is a blessed union of souls, either. He just explains how this relationship happened, why it happened, and how the men involved felt about it. (Between this and An Education, this seems to be the season for sensible reflections on adolescent sexuality.)

As engrossing as these stories are, however, there are places where the plot slows down, especially when Rick describes the rules for speech team competitions or the packaging of his favorite cast albums.

But since this is Magruder’s first novel, I don’t begrudge him a little self-indulgent detail. Besides,the distractions don’t last for long. Magruder’s background is in playwriting and dramaturgy, so he knows how to make a story active. Ultimately, his book zips along at an entertaining pace, meaning it’s as enjoyable to read as it is to think about later.