Openly Straight Books in Order

The Openly Straight series follows Rafe Goldberg and Ben Carver, two teenagers trying to understand who they are when the labels other people use do not quite fit. It begins with Openly Straight, moves through the short companion story Openly, Honestly, and continues in Honestly Ben.

Rafe comes from Colorado, where he has been openly gay since eighth grade. His family and friends support him, but he is tired of feeling like his sexuality is the first thing people notice about him. When he transfers to the all-boys Natick School in Massachusetts, he decides not to tell anyone he is gay. He does not see it as denying himself so much as trying to start over as simply Rafe.

That plan gets complicated fast.

At Natick, Rafe finds a place among the school's athletes and makes friends he genuinely likes. He also grows close to Ben, a kind, hardworking baseball player from a New Hampshire farming family. Their connection gives the first book its emotional center, while Rafe's secret raises questions about trust, privacy, and what it costs to keep part of yourself at a distance.

The setting matters. Natick is a polished, high-pressure boarding school where grades, sports, money, scholarships, and social expectations all shape daily life. Rafe and Ben may have more freedom than students in some other teen stories, but they still have to deal with rumors, assumptions, family expectations, and the fear of disappointing people they care about.

Openly, Honestly offers a brief winter-break stop with both boys away from campus. It keeps the focus close to their unsettled feelings and gives readers a little more time with Rafe, Ben, and Rafe's best friend Claire Olivia before the next novel.

Then Honestly Ben shifts the point of view to Ben. He is trying to hold onto his grades, baseball captaincy, and college scholarship while sorting through his feelings for Rafe and his idea of what a “normal” future should look like. The book does not rush him toward a simple answer. Instead, it lets him question the boxes people want him to choose.

These are thoughtful, funny contemporary YA novels with romance at the center. They work best in order, beginning with Openly Straight, because Ben's story gains much of its weight from seeing how Rafe's choices and their friendship first took shape.