You need to sign in or sign up before continuing.
Take a photo of a barcode or cover
4.12 AVERAGE
4.12 AVERAGE
As a mental health professional who has worked with transgendered clients, I was both curious and apprehensive about Golden Boy (which I receieved as an ARC from Bookbrowse.com.) Curious because this is not a topic that is often addressed in any form; apprehensive for the same reasons. Instead, I was more than pleasantly surprised by Tarttelin's portrayal of a family in turmoil and the choices parents make for their children.
It is not giving anything away to reveal that Max, the center of this novel, was born intersex. The grace and sensitivity with which Tarttelin writes of what happens after Max's trust is betrayed in a particularly disturbing way, as well as her deft hand at writing characters the reader cares about, combine to creat a loving and moving exploration of identity, family and growing up.
It is not giving anything away to reveal that Max, the center of this novel, was born intersex. The grace and sensitivity with which Tarttelin writes of what happens after Max's trust is betrayed in a particularly disturbing way, as well as her deft hand at writing characters the reader cares about, combine to creat a loving and moving exploration of identity, family and growing up.
Golden Boy is a truly important YA novel that I implore you to read. It delicately deals with intersexuality in a way that is educational and inspires empathy.
Very brutal at times, but I can honestly say I came out of this book feeling like a learned something.
Very brutal at times, but I can honestly say I came out of this book feeling like a learned something.
4.5 STARS
It took me a couple of days to gather my thoughts about my feelings for this book, because OH MY GOD I was not prepared for it. This book evoked so many emotions in me; disgust, horror, sadness, amazement, fear, happiness, confusion, awe, and so many others. To put it simply, this book was beautiful. In my opinion, this book handled all of the issues that it presents with such understanding, and it tries and succeeds in showing the perspective of someone different, as well as the people around them. Tarttelin did an amazing job of demonstrating what Intersex is from an array of people; from the perspective of Max, an Intersex person, to his family around him, as well as a doctor. Intersex was presented through so many different eyes that you were really able to experience it fully. The first 30 pages were some of the most traumatizing first 30 pages of a book that I had ever read, and it took me a long time to compose myself and continue reading after that. This is the perfect example of a story that is both heart breaking and uplifting, as well as one that is able to introduce a topic that is not talked about enough, and to provide not only a good representation of people who are Intersex, but she also gives the readers a lot of information about it without it seeming like a textbook or wikipedia page. I highly highly recommend this book to anyone who wants to know more about Intersex people, and who are looking for a book that touches your heart and shows you what it really means to be human.
It took me a couple of days to gather my thoughts about my feelings for this book, because OH MY GOD I was not prepared for it. This book evoked so many emotions in me; disgust, horror, sadness, amazement, fear, happiness, confusion, awe, and so many others. To put it simply, this book was beautiful. In my opinion, this book handled all of the issues that it presents with such understanding, and it tries and succeeds in showing the perspective of someone different, as well as the people around them. Tarttelin did an amazing job of demonstrating what Intersex is from an array of people; from the perspective of Max, an Intersex person, to his family around him, as well as a doctor. Intersex was presented through so many different eyes that you were really able to experience it fully. The first 30 pages were some of the most traumatizing first 30 pages of a book that I had ever read, and it took me a long time to compose myself and continue reading after that. This is the perfect example of a story that is both heart breaking and uplifting, as well as one that is able to introduce a topic that is not talked about enough, and to provide not only a good representation of people who are Intersex, but she also gives the readers a lot of information about it without it seeming like a textbook or wikipedia page. I highly highly recommend this book to anyone who wants to know more about Intersex people, and who are looking for a book that touches your heart and shows you what it really means to be human.
"All I ever wanted was to be perfect. That sounds like a pretty big ask, but “perfect” means bland, inoffensive, likeable. I wanted other things too. I did want to stand out, be smart, be nice, but I tried so hard for those things that it wasn’t really like I was asking anyone for them. Really what I wanted was to be something more than the sum of my male and female parts."
I appreciated this was a new story for me -- a story featuring an intersex character. However, my frustrations significantly marred the experience.
Before I get to my gripes: As is almost always the case, I'm glad I read this book. It furthered my understanding of being intersex and expanded upon knowledge I'd gained reading about trans issues. A lot of kids are born outside of the perceived norm, with ambiguous or otherwise "unusual" genitalia, and yet most people are so ignorant of this. If we all knew more, it might change the conversation when we talk about what makes someone male or female. God or nature doesn't always fashion a baby to be one or the other, body development and brain development are separate, and so how can a bar stool philosopher opine that the matter is clear cut?
Anyhow...
Max is intersex. He is both male and female. I use the male pronouns because he and everyone else does. He is sexually assaulted early on, with the rapist using his female anatomy. The book is about the emotional and physical repercussions of this, as well as what it does to Max's perception of himself and his family.
The book employs multiple POVs, most felt unneeded. Also, since I felt such antipathy for Max's mother, even with her mental processes, I'd say her POV was unwanted, and really lowered my enjoyment. I believe the author, admirably, wanted Karen -- the mother -- to be sympathetic, but I just could not arrive at a place where she didn't make me grit my teeth.
One of the POVs is the doctor Max meets when he goes to get help after the assault. Being England, Max's clinic trip had a lot less red tape than had the book been set in America. All the medical aspects throughout the book followed suit. The problem with the doctor is she seemed to exist to explain the intersex aspect and to brush right up against betraying confidentiality when the failings, sometimes passivity, of the characters left the story at a crossroads. The doctor never felt natural.
Another POV was a potential love interest. No real complaints there, except the general sense that most of the voices were similar.
Yet another POV was Max's younger brother, Daniel. This kid was something else, mostly in a good way. While he would be trying to live with, he was also bright and funny in a book that needed a little humor now and again.
“Poltergeists are real,” he mumbles from behind my hand. “No they’re not.” I frown at him. “And neither’s Santa.” “Ouch,” he says, and half-laughs, even though this is totally inappropriate because it’s disrespectful to the memory of Santa, who was real when we believed in him.
Ultimately, I spent the whole novel frustrated because the parents could see their kid was in distress and did nothing concrete to alleviate it. Their POVs were filled with thoughts of love, about how you'd do anything for your kid, but no one worked to build rapport, create a situation conducive to Max laying down some of his burden. When Max does make the first tentative steps to reach out, the mother instantly burns any bridge to communication, making wildly ignorant assumptions, and further traumatizing a child in pain. Any question she asks is then in the context of shame, judgement, and antagonism.
Max is established early on as a sweet and accommodating kid. Eventually, some of this is attributed to seeing from an early age the consequences of stressing out his mother. Which means he is prone to masking his pain, keeping secret his plight. And so with neither parent seeking to do more than handle the practical stuff, leaving the emotional and psychological dimension largely unquestioned, I pretty much just wanted to scream. Again, the doctor had to just about betray confidentiality to get Karen to give a second thought to her assumptions. And Karen is allegedly a successful attorney.
So, this is how I ended up at 3 stars and wanting to yell at some fictional characters.
I appreciated this was a new story for me -- a story featuring an intersex character. However, my frustrations significantly marred the experience.
Before I get to my gripes: As is almost always the case, I'm glad I read this book. It furthered my understanding of being intersex and expanded upon knowledge I'd gained reading about trans issues. A lot of kids are born outside of the perceived norm, with ambiguous or otherwise "unusual" genitalia, and yet most people are so ignorant of this. If we all knew more, it might change the conversation when we talk about what makes someone male or female. God or nature doesn't always fashion a baby to be one or the other, body development and brain development are separate, and so how can a bar stool philosopher opine that the matter is clear cut?
Anyhow...
Max is intersex. He is both male and female. I use the male pronouns because he and everyone else does. He is sexually assaulted early on, with the rapist using his female anatomy. The book is about the emotional and physical repercussions of this, as well as what it does to Max's perception of himself and his family.
The book employs multiple POVs, most felt unneeded. Also, since I felt such antipathy for Max's mother, even with her mental processes, I'd say her POV was unwanted, and really lowered my enjoyment. I believe the author, admirably, wanted Karen -- the mother -- to be sympathetic, but I just could not arrive at a place where she didn't make me grit my teeth.
One of the POVs is the doctor Max meets when he goes to get help after the assault. Being England, Max's clinic trip had a lot less red tape than had the book been set in America. All the medical aspects throughout the book followed suit. The problem with the doctor is she seemed to exist to explain the intersex aspect and to brush right up against betraying confidentiality when the failings, sometimes passivity, of the characters left the story at a crossroads. The doctor never felt natural.
Another POV was a potential love interest. No real complaints there, except the general sense that most of the voices were similar.
Yet another POV was Max's younger brother, Daniel. This kid was something else, mostly in a good way. While he would be trying to live with, he was also bright and funny in a book that needed a little humor now and again.
“Poltergeists are real,” he mumbles from behind my hand. “No they’re not.” I frown at him. “And neither’s Santa.” “Ouch,” he says, and half-laughs, even though this is totally inappropriate because it’s disrespectful to the memory of Santa, who was real when we believed in him.
Ultimately, I spent the whole novel frustrated because the parents could see their kid was in distress and did nothing concrete to alleviate it. Their POVs were filled with thoughts of love, about how you'd do anything for your kid, but no one worked to build rapport, create a situation conducive to Max laying down some of his burden. When Max does make the first tentative steps to reach out, the mother instantly burns any bridge to communication, making wildly ignorant assumptions, and further traumatizing a child in pain. Any question she asks is then in the context of shame, judgement, and antagonism.
Max is established early on as a sweet and accommodating kid. Eventually, some of this is attributed to seeing from an early age the consequences of stressing out his mother. Which means he is prone to masking his pain, keeping secret his plight. And so with neither parent seeking to do more than handle the practical stuff, leaving the emotional and psychological dimension largely unquestioned, I pretty much just wanted to scream. Again, the doctor had to just about betray confidentiality to get Karen to give a second thought to her assumptions. And Karen is allegedly a successful attorney.
So, this is how I ended up at 3 stars and wanting to yell at some fictional characters.
medium-paced
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I sped through this but I'm not going to lie, that was because I only focused on reading the dialogue because the actual writing wasn't great. However, it was informative but not overly scientific and I personally think the author wrote about Max's struggles with being intersex respectfully. However, as far as I'm aware, this is not own voices and I don't know how true it is to people who actually are intersex. I felt for Max and all that he was going through and also really liked him as a character. Karen, his mother, was a right cow with no respect for Max whatsoever but both his dad and brother were precious. Also, trigger warning for a very unnecessarily graphic (in my opinion) rape scene within the first 30 pages.
I read this book in one day. It was amazing. Intense. I feel...shaky...now that I'm done. I feel like this is one of those books that really makes you question things, everything. One secret (albeit a big one), and one night (one betrayal) plunged him into more problems in one year of his short life than almost anyone I know has had to face in their WHOLE lives. I just...cannot imagine. I have never read a coming of age book quite like this before. Eye-opening, real, heartbreaking. It make my heart ache and swell all at the same time. I read the author's note and she mentioned wanting to write a book about everyday heroes and man did she succeed. Every character in the book faced so much and did everything they could for the people around them. I think Sylvie especially was very impressive to me. I have been wondering since I finished how I would have reacted in her shoes and I can only say that I hope I could have been like her. There is so much sadness, hopelessness, here, and yet the end holds so much promise for the future, such compassion. This was just an overwhelmingly emotional book. Wow.