As soon as I heard about fellow Chattanoogan Matthew Hubbard’s debut novel, The Last Boyfriends Rules for Revenge, I knew I would love it (I mean, just look at the cover — it’s perfect!). Queer besties getting revenge on their terrible boyfriends with drag performances, viral TikToks, Winter Formal King elections, and general hijinks? Yes, please! As I read, I loved so many details, like the phrase “petty spaghetti” which I definitely use all the time now, and Ezra and his dad’s hockey obsession. While it is certainly a romp, there’s also a lot of depth in this novel as the three main characters, Ezra, Finley, and Lucas, navigate growing up and being queer in an increasingly disorienting and dangerous South. Something that has stuck with me since I first read it in Fin’s voice is his assertion that “none of us can be expected to do everything right. There’s no perfect way to respond to an imperfect system.” This book is funny, bright, and a fiery push toward revolution, whatever form that may take in each reader’s life.
Matthew Hubbard writes the kind of stories he wished he’d had as a teen in rural Alabama. He grew up on a mountaintop farm and knows more than he is willing to admit about small towns. He studied English, marketing, and psychology in college and has spent a majority of his life speaking up to make a difference. When he isn’t writing, Matthew can be found on a hike in search of breathtaking views, reading as many books as he can get his hands on, and cheering for his favorite hockey team. He lives in Chattanooga with his husband, their dogs, Layla and Phillip, and Jay Gatsby the cat. The Last Boyfriends Rules for Revenge is his first novel.
I was so excited to get to chat with Matthew about TLBRFR, the South, and the writing life over email.
Taylor Swift certainly plays a big role in the book (and I assume the writing process!) — how did you celebrate the release of The Tortured Poets Department?
Yes, she certainly does! In fact, I even included a heartfelt thank-you to her in the acknowledgements. Her songwriting has helped me navigate such strong emotions ever since her debut. She exhibits the grace it takes to stand up for what you believe in. That’s why a new TS album is a gift, both for my heart and my creativity — which I listened [to] song by song, letting her lyrics (and their often double-meanings) sink in.
I think sometimes adults can be dismissive of YA because it’s fluffy or just for kids or about big emotions which can sometimes lead characters to make terrible decisions. Personally, I’ve always been drawn to YA in part because of the big emotions the characters are allowed to feel and act on and then move beyond. How did you come to YA as a genre? And why did you choose YA for this book — or did it choose you? Do you think YA can offer things adult or literary fiction can’t?
Sure, some YA books are fluffy and some are meant for kids. There are more emotions jammed into their pages that lead characters to make terrible decisions, too, my own included. None of that is worthy of being dismissed. That’s the point of coming of age, and coming of age doesn’t, well, have an age. Especially for the queer community. Many of us didn’t get that experience shown in movies and TV, and many of us don’t realize who we are until well past our teens. I didn’t come of age until I was 22, for example, when I finally figured myself out. Those big emotions in YA really helped me do so, and I’ll forever be grateful. That’s one of the main reasons why I chose to write YA, and I guess you could say it chose me. There are so many people out there struggling as they embark into young adulthood, and I want to write a book that might help someone like a YA book helped me. The YA genre can offer many things literary fiction cannot, I think. While literary is the study of the human condition that sometimes includes key events in one’s life, YA bridges the gaps of those key events to let characters (and readers) explore their identities and catch their breath.
What would you say was one of the formative books you read as a teen or young adult?
When I was 22, I stumbled across the YA book The Vast Fields of Ordinary by Nick Burd in Barnes & Noble. The cover was innocuous — a teen boy in bright plaid shirt lying in vibrant green grass — but there was something about it that made me walk over to the shelf. Maybe it was the slight tilt of the boy’s chin, or maybe the delicate way he held a hand against his chest. Either way, I picked the book up and read the jacket copy. It promised a tale of dreamy-eyed misfits, boyfriends, coming out… With sweaty palms, I immediately put it back on the shelf and walked away. While my friends were busy, I snuck back to the YA section and rushed to buy it because I wasn’t out. Later, when I returned home, I began reading behind a locked door. It was the moment I saw myself for the first time, and my life didn’t feel like a burden. It was both life-changing and lifesaving. It was a driving force to where I am today, writing YA books for queer teens to see themselves as I did.
This book tackles a lot of huge, timely issues — bi-erasure, book bans, intersectional identities, student protests, LGBTQ+ rights, especially in schools. It is so exciting to see books like this that unflinchingly address the terrifying state of the world. I love that Ezra, Lucas, and Finley acknowledge their fear, but still fight back in the ways that make sense to them, especially because it’s easy to get stuck in those feelings of fear and helplessness. Do you have any hopes for how TLBRFR will be received? Do you think your book will be banned?
First off, thank you for saying that! A big component in writing The Last Boyfriend Rules for Revenge was to showcase not only the issues queer teens face but also highlighting queer joy and friendship. I feel like the students being targeted by real-life politics are being robbed of their true coming-of-age experience. They shouldn’t have to be concerned with fighting to exist. Like Ezra, Lucas, and Finley, they deserve to be teens, worry over their crushes, have movie nights, and the list goes on. I hope readers will embrace this journey and continue to believe in themselves no matter the hate people spew, no matter how many times they are told to sit down when they try to take a stand, no matter how hard the fight becomes. And that is the reason why I think my book will be banned. It’s teaching readers, no matter their age, to fight for their pride.
Did you have specific books in mind when you listed those banned by the Watch What You Say Initiative? (“a book about a girl falling in love for the first time, a memoir of growing up in the Bible Belt, a search to find meaning in life, and the list went on.”)
I almost specified which books I kept seeing on banned/challenged lists when I was writing. However, the idea of stating those books for them to only be further reduced to a banned book list (though fictional) in passing didn’t feel right. I wanted to showcase those stories by describing their premise because those themes are widely relatable.
It’s interesting that you never detail what the Watch What You Say initiative actually is. Can you talk about that choice?
Most legislations, such as Florida HB 1557 (“Don’t Say Gay”) that the initiative closely resembles, are made without those affected in mind. Watch What You Say is the same. It’s an agenda deliberately made to be confusing in order to keep the real motives from being shown. All these characters can do is react to them. They, as well as the reader, see the effects of the hate from banned books to the opposition of same-sex couples for formal dances. No matter what the initiative states, the most important fact is that it threatens their existence.
I know this book deals with a lot of the heavy things going on in the South right now, but our region is full of delights, too. What’s one of your favorite things about your corner of the South?
I couldn’t agree more about our region being full of delights! One of my favorite things about my corner of the South is recreational opportunities. Hiking trails are so accessible not only where I live but also in the region. I find it very centering to escape out into nature. My husband and I constantly finding new adventures. We’ve section hiked the Appalachian Trail and look for new trails to check out. There’s something about the dirt underneath my boots, the steady strides to new sights, that centers me and makes me feel present in my life.
Love to see supportive adults in books, like Ezra’s dad and Ms. Dion! Did you have any mentors as a youngster or teachers that encouraged you on your writing path?
Thank you for saying that! Those two are some of my favorite adult characters. While Ezra is based on my younger teen self, I wrote my adult self as his father to help him (and anyone else reading) see himself clearly. He delivers the advice “the best revenge is believing in yourself,” which is also advice my own father has given me. Aside from that, my college English professor really pushed me to find ways to better myself. She taught me a love of writing that is a catalyst to where I am today, and I still keep in touch with her, with email and phone call check-ins.
Were there any characters that were particularly challenging to write?
Without a doubt, Lucas Rivera (one of the best friends to my main character) was hard to write. He’s, for lack of a better word, so cool in comparison. His personality is to be quick-witted, sassy, funny, and have such a great rapport with others — the complete opposite of me in high school, who my main character Ezra is based on. Obviously, the challenge was that Lucas and I have nothing in common, and I had to dig down deep to find that inner sass. By doing so, I had so much fun. The best part about digging down deep to find it was that it left a well that I’m now able to draw from when crafting characters!
How does your day job feed your writing life?
I’ve spent the last 13 years in the nonprofit sector writing fundraising appeals, coordinating marketing efforts, graphic designing for brand awareness, and more. It has taught me an invaluable set of skills that comes down to this: the power of messaging and having a mission. When I start brainstorming ideas, I first write down a mission statement, much like a nonprofit, that lays out the important pillars I need to address. This helps me with the messaging I want to get across to readers.
What are you working on next? Are you doing a book tour?
My second contracted YA book has already been written and [is] in the next stage of the publishing process, and I’m secretly working on a third YA book. I’m doing a Pride Book Tour from April to July, connecting with bookstores and book clubs across the country in a mix of in-person and virtual events.
Thanks so much for talking with me, Matthew, and for sharing your book with the world. Can’t wait to catch you at some Chattanooga events this spring!
FICTION
The Last Boyfriends Rules for Revenge
By Matthew Hubbard
Delacorte Press
Published April 30, 2024
Southern Review of Books 