Some Choose Hot Dogs, Some Have Hot Dogs Thrust Upon Them

~Hot Dog Girl~
By Jennifer Dugan
Amazon ~ Powell's

Elouise (Lou) Parker is determined to have the absolute best, most impossibly epic summer of her life. There are just a few things standing in her way:

* She's landed a job at Magic Castle Playland
. . . as a giant dancing hot dog.

* Her crush, the dreamy Diving Pirate Nick, already has a girlfriend, who is literally the Princess of the park. But Lou's never liked anyone, guy or otherwise, this much before, and now she wants a chance at her own happily ever after.

* Her best friend, Seeley, the carousel operator, who's always been up for anything, suddenly isn't when it comes to Lou's quest to set her up with the perfect girl or Lou's scheme to get close to Nick.

* And it turns out that this will be their last summer at Magic Castle Playland—ever—unless she can find a way to stop it from closing.

Jennifer Dugan's sparkling debut coming-of-age queer romance stars a princess, a pirate, a hot dog, and a carousel operator who find love—and themselves—in unexpected people and unforgettable places.


I have no idea how this book got onto my radar. I think it might have been from one of my library's Teen Reads emails—maybe one of the LGBTQ+ lists—but it must have been some time ago because it isn't in my junkbox anymore. But after reading a horror story with elements that hit a little too close to home, I knew I needed something fluffier to escape into. And fluff I got.

The easiest description I can make is that Hot Dog Girl is your typical teen romcom you've seen on Disney Channel or Netflix, only with queer characters in the leading roles instead of straight ones. And really, I think that sums up whether you think you should read this book or not.

If you've seen one teen romance, you've seen most teen romances. You have the main character crushing on a guy who is already in a relationship, who decides that pretending to be in another relationship is a great way to get closer to him, which, of course, leads to "the liar revealed" climax. Mix in some other teen drama, like the tried and true "I didn't realize my best friend might be more than that," plus make the parent(s) seemingly unapproachable, and you've got your movie—er, book.

For as much as teen antics often annoy me, I did think their jumbled mess of emotions was captured well. Elouise is both self-depreciating and self-centered, making so you simultaneously feel commiseration over shared insecurities and annoyance at her shortsightedness. She does have a good heart to her, as is more than evidenced by the end, but it often takes prodding from Seeley or her father before she can see the bigger picture.

Speaking of whom, Seeley is the best. She's kinda punk, artistic, sarcastic, and quick to cry 'bullshit' when she needs to. She's Elouise's moral compass, and Lou knows it, even if she doesn't always take her advice. Seeley's story gave me the most tears, though not always through her own actions—she has a sick/dying grandmother. This is the second book in a row that's had that plot point, both coming immediately after receiving my own grandma's timeline, and I'm starting to think the universe is conspiring against me.

But enough about my troubles, and back to the characters'. Nick, the crush of the story, is too pure for this world. He's honestly a little too pure to be believable, but since his backstory kinda accounts for it, I can give him a pass. He's the main reason I'd put this as a Disney Channel Original Movie type story, since I could easily see the likes of Efron in this squeaky-clean role.

Then again, I don't know if Disney Channel is quite ready to have the main characters be bisexual or lesbian yet. For as much as I give this book a hard time for being formulaic, I think I understand why it was done that way. It isn't a big deal what genders the characters are, or what they're attracted to. Teenagerdom is pretty universal when it comes to romance: figure out who you're attracted to, if they're attracted to you, and if you match, try a date. It's the 'figuring out if they're attracted to you' part that usually trips people up, especially when also trying to navigate around social awkwardness and the ever confusing pull of hormones.

In other words, it's nice to have typical teen romances refreshed with under-represented demographics—especially to show their universality.

Overall, I'd definitely recommend Hot Dog Girl to anyone looking for a teenage love story. Though the story beats may come off as overly familiar, the characters are well-realized and relatable, and the emotions ring true, enough so that I was tearing up through a majority of the final chapters. Nothing more than kissing (and an honest-to-God nose boop!) puts this well in range for younger YA readers. So if you're looking for something sweet as cotton candy and salty as a hot dog, definitely put this one on your To-Read list.