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spacemanchris 's review for:
Invisible Boys
by Holden Sheppard
I like that this book is explicitly set in the present with social media and mobile phones. It could have easily been set in the '90s and the town's general reaction to gay students would fit in nicely, but having it in the present helps illustrate that homophobia and ignorance continues to this day even in countries like Australia. Not that it should surprise anyone with the government's attempt at introducing the aptly "Religious Discrimination Bill", which would allow homophobia under the guise of religion.
So, the novel follows three gay students at a small Western Australian town as they attempt to figure out how they're going to deal with being gay in the 21st Century. It seems like LGBT kids have it easier overall, but it's still a struggle for a lot of them, coming to terms with who you are is hard enough as a teenager but throw in a sexuality you didn't count on and it can be a nightmare. Especially for Charlie, a punk kid that was forced out of the closet, Zeke, a "good Catholic Sicilian boy" and Hammer, an wannabe footy hero.
Each of the boys alternate as narrators and in between each chapter is a sucicide note of sorts, although it's unclear who is writing it until the end.
I loved the dialogue in this, it feels very real, very Australian. The teenagers speak like teenagers, they swear freely, they're not grammatically correct... it reminds me of high school.
All three narrators also felt genuine, especially Hammer, the footy jock. He was a dick, but I also felt sorry for him because he was always going to have the hardest time navigating being gay. I could be wrong but to this day I don't think there's ever been an openly gay Australian Rules Football player, at least not until long after they retire. So for all the rainbow flags and claims of being a friend of the LGBT community, I wonder how true that can be when in 2019 you still have gay players in the closet.
Well, this review turned into a political rant of sorts, I guess it just hit me close to home. The final couple of chapters kind of destroyed me emotionally, I think that has more to do with bad timing than anything else, but on the plus side it really helped make an impact.
I originally gave this a four star review, but I've upped it to five because this is another book that has really stayed with me. A lot of it has to do with how I was feeling when I read this. I suppose I was just at the right emotional point in my life for this to really make such an impact.
So, the novel follows three gay students at a small Western Australian town as they attempt to figure out how they're going to deal with being gay in the 21st Century. It seems like LGBT kids have it easier overall, but it's still a struggle for a lot of them, coming to terms with who you are is hard enough as a teenager but throw in a sexuality you didn't count on and it can be a nightmare. Especially for Charlie, a punk kid that was forced out of the closet, Zeke, a "good Catholic Sicilian boy" and Hammer, an wannabe footy hero.
Each of the boys alternate as narrators and in between each chapter is a sucicide note of sorts, although it's unclear who is writing it until the end.
I loved the dialogue in this, it feels very real, very Australian. The teenagers speak like teenagers, they swear freely, they're not grammatically correct... it reminds me of high school.
All three narrators also felt genuine, especially Hammer, the footy jock. He was a dick, but I also felt sorry for him because he was always going to have the hardest time navigating being gay. I could be wrong but to this day I don't think there's ever been an openly gay Australian Rules Football player, at least not until long after they retire. So for all the rainbow flags and claims of being a friend of the LGBT community, I wonder how true that can be when in 2019 you still have gay players in the closet.
Well, this review turned into a political rant of sorts, I guess it just hit me close to home. The final couple of chapters kind of destroyed me emotionally, I think that has more to do with bad timing than anything else, but on the plus side it really helped make an impact.
I originally gave this a four star review, but I've upped it to five because this is another book that has really stayed with me. A lot of it has to do with how I was feeling when I read this. I suppose I was just at the right emotional point in my life for this to really make such an impact.