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Poised at the Edge Book Review
Boy Toy
Barry Lyga
Boy Toy, by Barry Lyga is one of the most challenging pieces of young adult literature that I have read in a long time. It tells the aftermath of a young man who engaged in an illicit sexual affair with his teacher when he was a seventh grader. The story, which is told in part real time, part flash-back, is sure to stun readers.
Joshua, the boy in question, is now a senior in high school. He is still feeling severe aftershocks from the affair that sent his history teacher to prison for five years. He suffers from “flickers”, weird fragmented memories that cause him to go into a trance like state. He also is exhibiting all kinds of socially unacceptable behaviors. He even punches his sadistic baseball coach. High school life is almost unbearable for Joshua. He isolates himself, only being around his life long best friend.
The details of Joshua’s affair and the legal case against his teacher Eve are all matters of public record. Joshua is sure that everyone at his school and in his town knows all the sordid details. He would be a complete outcast were not for his baseball skills and his straight A status.
Joshua’s life becomes all the more difficult when his teacher is released from prison. Now Joshua is forced to face his past, and deal with issues that he has never truly understood. There are truths he needs to learn about his life before he can move on.
Barry Lyga is one of the better YA authors out there. He tackles an enormously difficult subject with grace and style. Boy Toy is dark and frightening. It’s one of those books that you want to put down, but you just can’t. The story is incredibly complex and deep. Due to the fact that the narrator is at times a twelve year old boy, experiencing sexual situations, this book is fairly explicit.
Boy Toy
Barry Lyga
Boy Toy, by Barry Lyga is one of the most challenging pieces of young adult literature that I have read in a long time. It tells the aftermath of a young man who engaged in an illicit sexual affair with his teacher when he was a seventh grader. The story, which is told in part real time, part flash-back, is sure to stun readers.
Joshua, the boy in question, is now a senior in high school. He is still feeling severe aftershocks from the affair that sent his history teacher to prison for five years. He suffers from “flickers”, weird fragmented memories that cause him to go into a trance like state. He also is exhibiting all kinds of socially unacceptable behaviors. He even punches his sadistic baseball coach. High school life is almost unbearable for Joshua. He isolates himself, only being around his life long best friend.
The details of Joshua’s affair and the legal case against his teacher Eve are all matters of public record. Joshua is sure that everyone at his school and in his town knows all the sordid details. He would be a complete outcast were not for his baseball skills and his straight A status.
Joshua’s life becomes all the more difficult when his teacher is released from prison. Now Joshua is forced to face his past, and deal with issues that he has never truly understood. There are truths he needs to learn about his life before he can move on.
Barry Lyga is one of the better YA authors out there. He tackles an enormously difficult subject with grace and style. Boy Toy is dark and frightening. It’s one of those books that you want to put down, but you just can’t. The story is incredibly complex and deep. Due to the fact that the narrator is at times a twelve year old boy, experiencing sexual situations, this book is fairly explicit.
shocked