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4.26 AVERAGE
4.26 AVERAGE
I am still conflicted over this. I really enjoyed the read and the characters were engaging, but I was really saddened that none of the characters were given a good relationship experience. The boys deal with the small-town homophobia, families that reject them and a school that humiliates them. Their sexual experiences are mostly empty and unsatisfying and I wished we could have seen a relationship that worked as part of the tapestry of characters.
This book is a great read but definitely needs a better content warning on the jacket as far as the sexual content and suicide is concerned as we have had customers who have mistakenly purchased it for mid teens.
This book is a great read but definitely needs a better content warning on the jacket as far as the sexual content and suicide is concerned as we have had customers who have mistakenly purchased it for mid teens.
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
3.5 stars
Beautiful and important story of growing up gay in conservative Australian towns. So many different emotions that touched me deeply. I loved Zeke and Charlie and they definitely carried the book. Every other character was horrific. I don't think I've had so much fury for so many people. And I guess that's a credit to the author for taking me out of my liberal bubble and saying not everyone thinks the same as you. People are hateful, vengeful, mean and hypocritical and they will hurt people who are just trying to be themselves. There was no way you could read this book through rose-tinted glass because life isn't always like that.
Beautiful and important story of growing up gay in conservative Australian towns. So many different emotions that touched me deeply. I loved Zeke and Charlie and they definitely carried the book. Every other character was horrific. I don't think I've had so much fury for so many people. And I guess that's a credit to the author for taking me out of my liberal bubble and saying not everyone thinks the same as you. People are hateful, vengeful, mean and hypocritical and they will hurt people who are just trying to be themselves. There was no way you could read this book through rose-tinted glass because life isn't always like that.
adventurous
emotional
funny
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia, Sexual content
Moderate: Bullying, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Alcohol
emotional
hopeful
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Loveable characters:
Yes
I feel as though the only thing wrong with this book was that the homophobia was too heavy handed. I would have loved just one adult to not be a retrograde bigot. But it did move me, and I was cheering those three boys on for every single page.
This review originally appeared on Marie Reads Books.
Content warning: Invisible Boys contains themes of, and references to, homophobia (external and internal), suicide, self-harm, bullying and toxic masculinity.
Charlie, Zeke and Hammer have lived their whole lives in Geraldton, a small town a few hours from Perth, Western Australia. Charlie is the punk with dreams of being a rockstar; Zeke is the straight-A student who is going to make something of himself; and Hammer is the star of the footy field and one of the school’s leading bullies. They have nothing in common – or so they think. When Charlie gets outed as gay, the whole town turns on him, but he is thrown into the paths of Zeke and Hammer, who are also hiding secrets about their sexuality.
Invisible Boys made me angry. But it was meant to. Even before Charlie was outed and the homophobia of the rest of the town came out in full-force, I was angry at Hammer, who reminded me so much of the disrespectful, bullying boys I knew in high school. That’s the first point I need to make about this book: it feels completely authentic. Part of that is because Sheppard wrote it from his own experience, although he is quick to reassure that it is not autobiographical. But like Charlie, Zeke and Hammer, Sheppard also grew up in Geraldton, in a Catholic household, attended a Catholic school, and heard all the same messages of sin and deviance associated with homosexuality. It’s a hard book to read even as a cis heterosexual; I can only imagine how much harder it is to experience these things first hand. I spent most of the book wanting to tear out the pages at the small-mindedness of the people in Charlie, Zeke and Hammer’s lives, and yell about how much they were unknowingly damaging Zeke and Hammer with the messages they were spreading about the “evil” of same-sex relationships.
Each of the boys copes differently with the knowledge of their sexuality. Charlie’s dad is dead and his mum doesn’t care what he does so Charlie is used to being independent. He’s the one who puts up a fight and refuses to let anyone shame him. His bravado masks a lot of vulnerability, though, and as more people turn on him and he unravels further, more of that starts to come through. Charlie’s story is about learning how to let people in and trust them to help him, even though he has abandonment issues. Zeke has grown up in a strict Italian-Australian household, going to church every Sunday and hearing messages about what appropriate behaviour for a man is. Of all the boys, Zeke is the quietest and most thoughtful; he knows that being gay is natural and not wrong, and that it doesn’t make him less of a man, but he faces an internal battle between being himself and taking the path of least resistance and doing what his parents expect of him so he won’t “bring shame” on the family. Zeke’s is a story about finding his strength and learning to stand up for himself. Hammer is completely at odds with his sexuality. He’s a muscley jock who thinks that being gay will make him less than the straight men around him. His mindset isn’t helped by the fact that his parents once gave him an old book about how teenagers often experience homosexual feelings during puberty, but that this is just a phase and it will pass. So Hammer spends the book telling Charlie and Zeke that he’s not gay at all, even while he’s also trying to convince himself that he really does find girls attractive. Hammer’s story is about self-acceptance. All the boys resolve their stories to varying degrees, but each journey and resolution feels very real to each character.
I would have given this book 5 stars if not for one particular issue I had with it. At one point, Hammer begins a secret relationship with one of the other boys. The shift in the other character’s feelings was very sudden and seemed to be born out of nothing more than physical attraction after seeing Hammer in a suit. I do get that physical attraction is a large part of most relationships, particularly teenage ones and especially when the options for those feelings to be reciprocated are limited. However, later in the book the two boys have a conversation in which Hammer says, “I’m a horrible person”, and the other boy immediately says, “No you’re not”. I’m not saying that Hammer isn’t struggling with a lot, but he’s a bully. He bullies everyone, from his older brother, to Charlie and Zeke, to the girls he uses to maintain his social status. Having one of the other boys turn around and start up a relationship with him out of nowhere was hard enough to swallow, without him then also claiming that Hammer isn’t a bad person. I’m torn about how this could have been solved, because on one hand Hammer could have been shown as more vulnerable and less cruel in his interactions with Charlie and Zeke when they’re alone, but on the other that doesn’t feel real for his character. Regardless, I’m satisfied with how the relationship was resolved at the end of the book.
Invisible Boys is important reading for teenage boys and I was glad to learn it’s being read in schools. It’s written in a way that will engage boys and uses language that they use. From what I understand, it’s a very real portrayal of the teenage boy experience. It’s exploration of masculinity and how religion intersects with sexuality is extremely relevant at a time when there is a national conversation occurring about the damaging messages of toxic masculinity and the harm these cause to both the boys receiving these messages and the women and minority groups who bear the consequences. Invisible Boys is hard but it is worthwhile. Most importantly, it makes you feel things, and I’ll be thinking about Charlie, Zeke and Hammer for a long while.
Content warning: Invisible Boys contains themes of, and references to, homophobia (external and internal), suicide, self-harm, bullying and toxic masculinity.
Charlie, Zeke and Hammer have lived their whole lives in Geraldton, a small town a few hours from Perth, Western Australia. Charlie is the punk with dreams of being a rockstar; Zeke is the straight-A student who is going to make something of himself; and Hammer is the star of the footy field and one of the school’s leading bullies. They have nothing in common – or so they think. When Charlie gets outed as gay, the whole town turns on him, but he is thrown into the paths of Zeke and Hammer, who are also hiding secrets about their sexuality.
Invisible Boys made me angry. But it was meant to. Even before Charlie was outed and the homophobia of the rest of the town came out in full-force, I was angry at Hammer, who reminded me so much of the disrespectful, bullying boys I knew in high school. That’s the first point I need to make about this book: it feels completely authentic. Part of that is because Sheppard wrote it from his own experience, although he is quick to reassure that it is not autobiographical. But like Charlie, Zeke and Hammer, Sheppard also grew up in Geraldton, in a Catholic household, attended a Catholic school, and heard all the same messages of sin and deviance associated with homosexuality. It’s a hard book to read even as a cis heterosexual; I can only imagine how much harder it is to experience these things first hand. I spent most of the book wanting to tear out the pages at the small-mindedness of the people in Charlie, Zeke and Hammer’s lives, and yell about how much they were unknowingly damaging Zeke and Hammer with the messages they were spreading about the “evil” of same-sex relationships.
Each of the boys copes differently with the knowledge of their sexuality. Charlie’s dad is dead and his mum doesn’t care what he does so Charlie is used to being independent. He’s the one who puts up a fight and refuses to let anyone shame him. His bravado masks a lot of vulnerability, though, and as more people turn on him and he unravels further, more of that starts to come through. Charlie’s story is about learning how to let people in and trust them to help him, even though he has abandonment issues. Zeke has grown up in a strict Italian-Australian household, going to church every Sunday and hearing messages about what appropriate behaviour for a man is. Of all the boys, Zeke is the quietest and most thoughtful; he knows that being gay is natural and not wrong, and that it doesn’t make him less of a man, but he faces an internal battle between being himself and taking the path of least resistance and doing what his parents expect of him so he won’t “bring shame” on the family. Zeke’s is a story about finding his strength and learning to stand up for himself. Hammer is completely at odds with his sexuality. He’s a muscley jock who thinks that being gay will make him less than the straight men around him. His mindset isn’t helped by the fact that his parents once gave him an old book about how teenagers often experience homosexual feelings during puberty, but that this is just a phase and it will pass. So Hammer spends the book telling Charlie and Zeke that he’s not gay at all, even while he’s also trying to convince himself that he really does find girls attractive. Hammer’s story is about self-acceptance. All the boys resolve their stories to varying degrees, but each journey and resolution feels very real to each character.
I would have given this book 5 stars if not for one particular issue I had with it. At one point, Hammer begins a secret relationship with one of the other boys. The shift in the other character’s feelings was very sudden and seemed to be born out of nothing more than physical attraction after seeing Hammer in a suit. I do get that physical attraction is a large part of most relationships, particularly teenage ones and especially when the options for those feelings to be reciprocated are limited. However, later in the book the two boys have a conversation in which Hammer says, “I’m a horrible person”, and the other boy immediately says, “No you’re not”. I’m not saying that Hammer isn’t struggling with a lot, but he’s a bully. He bullies everyone, from his older brother, to Charlie and Zeke, to the girls he uses to maintain his social status. Having one of the other boys turn around and start up a relationship with him out of nowhere was hard enough to swallow, without him then also claiming that Hammer isn’t a bad person. I’m torn about how this could have been solved, because on one hand Hammer could have been shown as more vulnerable and less cruel in his interactions with Charlie and Zeke when they’re alone, but on the other that doesn’t feel real for his character. Regardless, I’m satisfied with how the relationship was resolved at the end of the book.
Invisible Boys is important reading for teenage boys and I was glad to learn it’s being read in schools. It’s written in a way that will engage boys and uses language that they use. From what I understand, it’s a very real portrayal of the teenage boy experience. It’s exploration of masculinity and how religion intersects with sexuality is extremely relevant at a time when there is a national conversation occurring about the damaging messages of toxic masculinity and the harm these cause to both the boys receiving these messages and the women and minority groups who bear the consequences. Invisible Boys is hard but it is worthwhile. Most importantly, it makes you feel things, and I’ll be thinking about Charlie, Zeke and Hammer for a long while.
INVISIBLE BOYS follows three teenage boys growing up in the semi-rural town of Geraldton, WA. Charlie, Zeke and Hammer couldn't be more different, but when they discover they're all struggling with the thought of being gay in a country town they're brought together to combat personal and external difficulties.
It's really nice to see some good ol' country Australia setting in YA! There are so many interesting aspects to explore that come with having a unique and fresh setting in a book.
I struggled a lot with the heavy homophobia in this book. Obviously it's pretty much the entire plotline, which is clear just from the premise. I'm not trying to dismiss this or say it's wrong to write about homophobia, but it was challenging to read at times. I'm very much of the mindset that there are so many queer stories that are emotionally difficult to read, with super sad endings. And whilst the ending of INVISIBLE BOYS is mostly hopeful, it still fell into the trap of being a Sad Gay Story.
Also if we could not all into the "all homophobes are secretly gay" trope for the fiftieth time, that'd be fabulous <3
Overall I enjoyed INVISIBLE BOYS, but it's not one I'd rave about.
It's really nice to see some good ol' country Australia setting in YA! There are so many interesting aspects to explore that come with having a unique and fresh setting in a book.
I struggled a lot with the heavy homophobia in this book. Obviously it's pretty much the entire plotline, which is clear just from the premise. I'm not trying to dismiss this or say it's wrong to write about homophobia, but it was challenging to read at times. I'm very much of the mindset that there are so many queer stories that are emotionally difficult to read, with super sad endings. And whilst the ending of INVISIBLE BOYS is mostly hopeful, it still fell into the trap of being a Sad Gay Story.
Also if we could not all into the "all homophobes are secretly gay" trope for the fiftieth time, that'd be fabulous <3
Overall I enjoyed INVISIBLE BOYS, but it's not one I'd rave about.
This book I had forgotten about until I remembered an excerpt from it - it haunted me and I did some serious browsing of the web and here we are. Raw is the word for this book, but it definitely paints an honest yet beautiful picture of what life looked like for the Invisible Boys. It's worth picking up.