BOY TOY by Barry Lyga
BOY TOY by Barry Lyga
Summary from Houghton Mifflin Website
You’ve seen the stories on television and read them in the papers. A female teacher has a sexual relationship with a student. How could this happen, you think? What kind of life will that student go on to have? Why didn’t anyone see what was going on? Barry Lyga’s riveting new novel, Boy Toy, takes you inside just such a relationship.
Josh Mendel has a secret. The problem is, everyone knows what it is. Five years ago, Josh’s life changed. Drastically. And everyone in his school, in his town—seems like the world—thinks they understand. But they don’t. They can’t. Now Josh is about to graduate from high school, still trying to sort through the pieces. There is Rachel, the girl he thought he’d lost years ago. Then there are college decisions to make, and the most important baseball game of his life coming up. His parents. His friends. His guilt.
Five years ago, Josh had a sexual relationship with his teacher, Eve. And now she’s getting out of jail. Her return forces Josh to confront his past, and figure out what his future will hold.
Breaking new ground in young adult fiction, Barry Lyga tackles a taboo topic with respect for his readers. But make no mistake: this is no “problem novel,” written to help teens. Lyga says, “I don’t consider the book to be ‘about’ what happens to Josh. It’s primarily about what happens years later and how he comes to terms with it. When I talk about the book, I don’t say, ‘It’s about child abuse.’ It’s really about that scary precipice of graduation, when you’re supposed to become an adult but you’re still enough of a kid to be scared by your future. At that age, you have to figure out what to do with the baggage you’ve accumulated. Josh has heavier baggage than most.”
Graphic but never gratuitous, wrenching but always realistic, Boy Toy grabs you by the collar and doesn’t let go.
~Serious Subjects~ Sexual Abuse, Identity,
Order: IndieBookstore, Powell's Books
Summary from Houghton Mifflin Website
You’ve seen the stories on television and read them in the papers. A female teacher has a sexual relationship with a student. How could this happen, you think? What kind of life will that student go on to have? Why didn’t anyone see what was going on? Barry Lyga’s riveting new novel, Boy Toy, takes you inside just such a relationship.
Josh Mendel has a secret. The problem is, everyone knows what it is. Five years ago, Josh’s life changed. Drastically. And everyone in his school, in his town—seems like the world—thinks they understand. But they don’t. They can’t. Now Josh is about to graduate from high school, still trying to sort through the pieces. There is Rachel, the girl he thought he’d lost years ago. Then there are college decisions to make, and the most important baseball game of his life coming up. His parents. His friends. His guilt.
Five years ago, Josh had a sexual relationship with his teacher, Eve. And now she’s getting out of jail. Her return forces Josh to confront his past, and figure out what his future will hold.
Breaking new ground in young adult fiction, Barry Lyga tackles a taboo topic with respect for his readers. But make no mistake: this is no “problem novel,” written to help teens. Lyga says, “I don’t consider the book to be ‘about’ what happens to Josh. It’s primarily about what happens years later and how he comes to terms with it. When I talk about the book, I don’t say, ‘It’s about child abuse.’ It’s really about that scary precipice of graduation, when you’re supposed to become an adult but you’re still enough of a kid to be scared by your future. At that age, you have to figure out what to do with the baggage you’ve accumulated. Josh has heavier baggage than most.”
Graphic but never gratuitous, wrenching but always realistic, Boy Toy grabs you by the collar and doesn’t let go.
~Serious Subjects~ Sexual Abuse, Identity,
Order: IndieBookstore, Powell's Books
