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''Geography Club'' is a YoungAdult novel by Brent Hartinger about Russel Middlebrook, his friend Min, and a group of teenagers who start a secret gay support group at their high school. Fearing backlash, they call it the [[{{TitleDrop}} Geography Club]], in the hope that no one will join a club so boring. However along the way, Russel realizes what hiding does to his relationships and himself and how maintaining a facade to please others ends up hurting yourself.

This is the first book in ''The Russel Middlebrook Series''. The sequels are ''Literature/TheOrderOfThePoisonOak'', ''[[Literature/SoulSuckingBrainZombiesDuology Double Feature: Attack of the Soul-Sucking Brain Zombies/Bride of the Soul-Sucking Brain Zombies]]'',[[note]]Originally published as ''Splitscreen''[[/note]] and ''Literature/TheElephantOfSurprise''.

Adapted for film in 2013. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kyv91MU52CM The trailer is here.]]
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!!'''''Geography Club'' provides examples of:'''

* TheAce: Kevin, who's a star athlete and one of the most popular guys in the school.
* AccidentalTruth: Someone [[spoiler: (Kimberly, encouraged by Gunnar)]] starts a rumor that Russell is gay towards the end of the novel.
* ActuallyPrettyFunny: [[spoiler: After a rumor spreads that Russel is gay, Russel ends up sitting with Brian at lunch and finds out that he is a pretty funny guy and makes he makes a few light-hearted jokes towards Russel's way.]]
* AdaptationalCurves: Terese, who's a soccer jock in the novel is played by the curvier and bigger Nikki Blonsky.
* AdaptationalJobChange: Kevin is a baseball player in the book, he became a football player in the film.
* AlliterativeName: Brian Bund, the school's punching bag.
* ArmoredClosetGay: All the members of the Geography Club to a degree; though Kevin and Terese stand out. Kevin is a jock on the baseball team that cares about being a popular jock and Terese just does not want to be out the closet at ''all''.
* AsianAndNerdy: Russel's best friend Min, though {{downplayed}} and discussed.
* TheBeard: Russel gets a girlfriend, though only because his friend blackmailed him into it.
* BeYourself: Russel learns to be himself instead of hiding who he is, or trying to be popular, or trying to be someone he's not just to be close to Kevin.
* BittersweetEnding: [[spoiler: Kevin and Russel break up at the end of the book after Kevin decides he can't give up his popularity and perceived heterosexuality. However, Russel grows tremendously as a person and even befriends Brian Bund and from there, the secret Geography Club turns into a public gay-straight alliance.]]
* BullyMagnet: Brian Bund, both the book and movie. He is described as gangly and awkward and is regularly tormented by the jocks. [[spoiler: Later, after Russel is seemingly outed at school, Brian takes the steps to submit an application for a gay-straight alliance to take the heat off Russell, showing he's still a stand up guy.]]
* ChewToy: Brian Bund, the school's outcast and bully magnet.
* CliqueTour: Russell lists off the school cliques at the beginning of the book: the Jocks, the Cheerleaders, the Druggies, The Christians, the [[PassionateSportsGirl Girl Jocks]], the [[RebelliousSpirit Lefty Radicals]], the [[DramaClub Theater Crowd]], Computer Geeks, Orchestra Members, and his group of friends, the Nerdy Intellectuals. Brian Bund is at the bottom.
* CloudCuckooLander: Gunnar, Russel and Min's other friend who is very spacey but sweet.
* DoggedNiceGuy: Poor Gunnar, who desperately wants a girlfriend so much that he lets himself get belittled by Kimberly.
* DrivenToSuicide: Ike reveals to the group he nearly killed himself. He got better, thankfully.
* EatingLunchAlone: Brian Bund, who does it everyday. [[spoiler: Russel too, after he's seemingly outed]].
* FagHag: Min, Russel's best friend.
* GayBravado: The first chapter in the locker room between both Russel and Kevin. HilariousInHindsight, as both characters were in fact gay.
* GayGuySeeksPopularJock: Possibly the TropeCodifier, with Russel crushing on Kevin, the handsome baseball jock.
* {{Gayngst}}: Natch. All of the Geography Club have anxiety in regards to their closeted status, with Ike revealing that he once tried to kill himself. None want to be outed and be the unpopular kid.
* HardDrinkingPartyGirl: Kimberly, annoyingly so. On Gunnar's first date with her at the movies, she brings a flask of rum to mix in with her soda.
* TheHeart: Min, who wanted Brian to join the Geography Club after she witnessed two instances of extreme bullying Brian was put through.
* IAmOneOfThoseToo: A straight girl actually wants to join the Geography Club, to the group complete and utter surprise.
* {{Jerkass}}: Kimberly, the girl Gunnar is into. She's rude, obnoxious and hinted to have a drinking problem.
* JerkJock: Every other named baseball Jock other than Kevin, though he has his moments. They are Brian's main tormentors.
* LesbianJock: Terese, who is on the soccer team.
* LockedOutOfTheLoop: Gunnar is off on his own plot with trying to date Kimberly and has no idea about the Geography Club.
* LovableJock: Kevin, Russel's LoveInterest, who's on the team and nice and caring to Russel. [[spoiler: Unfortunately, he's Lovable up to a point and joins in on the teasing of Brian as well as making homophobic jokes to just to fit in.]]
* RaceLift: Issac is white in the book and is described as an "lefty radical", but in the movie, he is played by the African-American Alex Newell in the movie and is played more like a CampGay.
* StraightGay: All the male gays in the book, Russel, Kevin and Ike. Though Russel has a couple of CampGay characteristics, such as his love of animated Creator/{{Disney}} films.
* TokenLesbian: Terese. Min might also be considered a token bisexual.
* TransparentCloset: Terese, despite not wanting to come out, embodies the ButchLesbian trope. Also, Russel's best friends see through his closeted state.
-->"Come on, Russell. Animated Creator/{{Disney}} musicals?"
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