Take a photo of a barcode or cover
4.12 AVERAGE
4.12 AVERAGE
http://theprettygoodgatsby.wordpress.com/2013/05/13/golden-boy-by-abigail-tarttelin/
The Walkers are a perfect family. Steve and Karen are both highly successful in their fields, 15-year old Max is a straight-A student who would never dream of talking back to his parents or getting into fights, and 10-year old Daniel is perfect in that he isn't perfect. On the outside, the Walkers have it all; they're media darlings and everyone in town knows their names. Behind closed doors, however, the Walkers are hiding a secret.
Max Walker is the star of the football team. All the girls flock to him and he's just a few tests away from the top schools. No one would assume Max is anything other than a normal teenage boy. Sure he's a bit smaller than the other boys in his class, but his two best friends only just recently started shaving, and football has done wonders for Max's muscles. He goes on dates with girls and leads a normal life.
Max's secret never bothered him; it was who he was. After one of his closest friends does the unthinkable, however, Max suddenly becomes well aware of just how different he is. Max isn't like the other boys - Max is intersex. He has both male and female organs. Until now, he's managed to keep it hidden from the world; his dates with girls never went farther than kissing and while it's not what Max wants, it's worked so far. He's earned a reputation at school as being a Love-Them-And-Leave-Them type and he does nothing to refute the claims.
With Hunter's betrayal, Max is left in a whirlwind of questions, confusion, and anger. His father's recent campaign announcement only adds to his distress. The Walkers are supposed to be the perfect family; how could they possibly explain their son's pregnancy?
Oh, wow. WOW. Guys, I was so not prepared for Golden Boy. I'm always up for a good - and tough! - read, but I wasn't expecting this. That's definitely not a bad thing though; the author tackled an extremely sensitive subject and I thought she did a fantastic job. Also: SHE'S ONLY A YEAR OLDER THAN ME WHAT.
I don't get squeamish while reading and I rarely cringe at descriptions, so be warned: within the first few pages there is a VERY graphic rape scene. That alone could be enough to turn away many readers. Other triggers of note: attempted suicide, drug abuse, and abortions. So, yes, decidedly not a sunny day, sitting-on-the-porch kind of read. Despite this, however, I found myself absolutely captivated.
Hunter's betrayal was one I had not seen coming. I took the summary to mean he leaked information to the media, not that he would rape Max and get him pregnant! Max and Hunter grew up together, their parents were best friends. The boys considered themselves cousins in a way. For Hunter to do such a horrible thing to Max was appalling. He took advantage of Max and his trust and left Max a shell of a boy. This happens very early on in Golden Boy and the novel is spent with Max - and his family - dealing with the repercussions.
Golden Boy alternates between a number of perspectives. We see the events through the eyes of Max, his parents, his brother, his doctor, and his girlfriend. Each one had a distinct voice and felt authentic. Max is understandably terrified and ashamed, his brother is worried and angry. Sylvie doesn't know why Max's moods have changed so abruptly or why he's avoiding her. Karen blames herself for her son's 'illness' and tries to make it go away. Every character felt raw and open and real.
Golden Boy is definitely not a book for everyone, but I greatly enjoyed it. It was tough and thought-provoking and powerful. I have a feeling both the characters and issues the story raised will stick with me for months to come. If you're looking to step outside your comfort zone, Golden Boy is worth a read.
When I was little the doctors called me a hermaphrodite. It's got a lot of stigma, but as a word on its own I like it better. It's a thing. It's not between things. It's an ancient Greek word. It makes me sound old, like we were always around. I like that.
The Walkers are a perfect family. Steve and Karen are both highly successful in their fields, 15-year old Max is a straight-A student who would never dream of talking back to his parents or getting into fights, and 10-year old Daniel is perfect in that he isn't perfect. On the outside, the Walkers have it all; they're media darlings and everyone in town knows their names. Behind closed doors, however, the Walkers are hiding a secret.
Max Walker is the star of the football team. All the girls flock to him and he's just a few tests away from the top schools. No one would assume Max is anything other than a normal teenage boy. Sure he's a bit smaller than the other boys in his class, but his two best friends only just recently started shaving, and football has done wonders for Max's muscles. He goes on dates with girls and leads a normal life.
Max's secret never bothered him; it was who he was. After one of his closest friends does the unthinkable, however, Max suddenly becomes well aware of just how different he is. Max isn't like the other boys - Max is intersex. He has both male and female organs. Until now, he's managed to keep it hidden from the world; his dates with girls never went farther than kissing and while it's not what Max wants, it's worked so far. He's earned a reputation at school as being a Love-Them-And-Leave-Them type and he does nothing to refute the claims.
With Hunter's betrayal, Max is left in a whirlwind of questions, confusion, and anger. His father's recent campaign announcement only adds to his distress. The Walkers are supposed to be the perfect family; how could they possibly explain their son's pregnancy?
You hear about things going wrong during a birth, but when you're pregnant and in labor, you never think it will happen to you. No one thinks theirs will be the baby with the problem. And then it was my baby, and it made me worry all the more acutely for the rest of his life, because I had been right to worry at the birth, because when it had been time to give birth, to do the most important thing I could do for Max, something had gone wrong.
Oh, wow. WOW. Guys, I was so not prepared for Golden Boy. I'm always up for a good - and tough! - read, but I wasn't expecting this. That's definitely not a bad thing though; the author tackled an extremely sensitive subject and I thought she did a fantastic job. Also: SHE'S ONLY A YEAR OLDER THAN ME WHAT.
I don't get squeamish while reading and I rarely cringe at descriptions, so be warned: within the first few pages there is a VERY graphic rape scene. That alone could be enough to turn away many readers. Other triggers of note: attempted suicide, drug abuse, and abortions. So, yes, decidedly not a sunny day, sitting-on-the-porch kind of read. Despite this, however, I found myself absolutely captivated.
Hunter's betrayal was one I had not seen coming. I took the summary to mean he leaked information to the media, not that he would rape Max and get him pregnant! Max and Hunter grew up together, their parents were best friends. The boys considered themselves cousins in a way. For Hunter to do such a horrible thing to Max was appalling. He took advantage of Max and his trust and left Max a shell of a boy. This happens very early on in Golden Boy and the novel is spent with Max - and his family - dealing with the repercussions.
Golden Boy alternates between a number of perspectives. We see the events through the eyes of Max, his parents, his brother, his doctor, and his girlfriend. Each one had a distinct voice and felt authentic. Max is understandably terrified and ashamed, his brother is worried and angry. Sylvie doesn't know why Max's moods have changed so abruptly or why he's avoiding her. Karen blames herself for her son's 'illness' and tries to make it go away. Every character felt raw and open and real.
Golden Boy is definitely not a book for everyone, but I greatly enjoyed it. It was tough and thought-provoking and powerful. I have a feeling both the characters and issues the story raised will stick with me for months to come. If you're looking to step outside your comfort zone, Golden Boy is worth a read.
So, I loved this. She took incredibly challenging subject matter, had multiple, well-done first person narrators, and the message was brilliant. It was beautiful. That being said, Ashley is going to kill me for the rest of this review.
I didn't feel it the way I thought I was going to. Perhaps it is because it followed an incredibly emotional book that was so gorgeously written (Tell the Wolves I'm Home), but it didn't slam into me with that brick wall of emotion I expected. The whole story was not perhaps what I thought it'd be. The love story didn't grab me. Daniel scared the shit out of me most of the story. And there was a lot of internalized action that felt repetitive. Obviously it drew out a lot of emotion- I could not stand Karen (even at the end), Max's opening scene was shocking and he broke my heart. There was just something missing and I've been trying to put my finger on it, but I can't figure it out yet.
This all being said, I thought it was very much well done and the story was wonderful, and don't worry Ashley, I still think this was pretty great. I'm looking very much forward to talking it over in Book Club, and perhaps my mind will be changed about that "something."
I didn't feel it the way I thought I was going to. Perhaps it is because it followed an incredibly emotional book that was so gorgeously written (Tell the Wolves I'm Home), but it didn't slam into me with that brick wall of emotion I expected. The whole story was not perhaps what I thought it'd be. The love story didn't grab me. Daniel scared the shit out of me most of the story. And there was a lot of internalized action that felt repetitive. Obviously it drew out a lot of emotion- I could not stand Karen (even at the end), Max's opening scene was shocking and he broke my heart. There was just something missing and I've been trying to put my finger on it, but I can't figure it out yet.
This all being said, I thought it was very much well done and the story was wonderful, and don't worry Ashley, I still think this was pretty great. I'm looking very much forward to talking it over in Book Club, and perhaps my mind will be changed about that "something."
This books would definitely be one of my favorites but the writing style was horrible at times (and I hates the mother)
Una bella storia, appagante, soddisfacente, piena. Mi ha tenuta incollata e l'ho divorata in due "sedute".
Scritta in modo profondamente introspettivo, ma anche "da più prospettive". Ho apprezzato di poter "vedere" la storia attraverso i punti di vista dei vari personaggi, senza che questo abbia oscurato la voce del protagonista, che è comunque forte e chiara. Mi sono lasciata immergere nei suoi monologhi interiori, un aspetto che ho adorato. Ringrazio l'autrice per aver condiviso questa piccola perla che mi ha coccolata e assorbita totalmente.
Scritta in modo profondamente introspettivo, ma anche "da più prospettive". Ho apprezzato di poter "vedere" la storia attraverso i punti di vista dei vari personaggi, senza che questo abbia oscurato la voce del protagonista, che è comunque forte e chiara. Mi sono lasciata immergere nei suoi monologhi interiori, un aspetto che ho adorato. Ringrazio l'autrice per aver condiviso questa piccola perla che mi ha coccolata e assorbita totalmente.
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape, Pregnancy
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Vomit, Toxic friendship, Sexual harassment
Minor: Drug use, Panic attacks/disorders, Abortion, Alcohol
sobbing for the second half of this book. beautiful. love love love loved it. would recommend to a friend.
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape, Sexual assault, Transphobia
Moderate: Suicide attempt
I could only read this book for only a day before I had to set it down. This book is great I'm giving three stars due to how fast I had to set it down. The main character gets raped by his best friend. I just couldn't get past this part without almost throwing up from how awful his friend is and how I almost cried from this moment. I was reading this for my independent book for my English class and I had to go up to my teacher and tell him what happened in the book and I had to switch from this book to another. I assume this book is well written but it just wasn't for me. I recommend this book for teens in their Junoir year of High School.