LGBTQA Group Books discussion

1 & 2

When I first started this book, my thoughts were 1) that I liked the beginning story about the pencil and 2) that the writing was too simiple, cliched, and unintelligent. I was mad I spent money on it. Now, the writing is all of those things some of the time, but I feel compelled to read further in spite of that. Besides, every once in a while, you run across a passage like this: "I've been told on more than one occasion that I should stop reading so much and actually have a life, but do you know what I've figured out? People in books are much more interesting than the people who've told me that."

I find myself curious about the characters and how they will evolve. If this is true even though much of the writing bothers me, perhaps it's because I feel unprepared to have such an informal relationship with the narrator. He comes out of the gate running, using foul language and divulging sexual thoughts, but his relationship to the reader is unclear. I think I would've liked some kind of self-introduction so that I could be ready to listen to his story exactly as he wants to tell it. The narrator, an English teacher (?!), sometimes uses phrases like "cloying bromides," which draw my attention, and not in a good way. If you're going to use foul language and sexual imagery and uncomplicated syntax, throwing in that kind of phrase robs me of my ability to suspend disbelief and connect deeply with the story.

The potential, however, is palpable. I'm anxious to find out more about Simon and Nathan and Kyle. And there are several ideas sprinkled in these two chapters that are not elaborated on (i.e. "Sometimes you hurt people for no reason. Just because you can," "No matter what anyone tells you, love is not necessarily a good thing"); I hope there are some further explorations and/or explanations in the pages to come. Given all my wanting, Yates must have done something right. We'll see if he delivers.

he will,