I just finished Nice Jewish Boys by Sarah L. Young, which was another NetGalley book. This book was really frustrating. It felt like a lecture on how to be nice to your gay son even if you are a bit of a republican homophobe. I was reading highlights out to Leon , and he asked if the person writing it had ever been a teenage boy. I ask if she had ever met a gay teenager.
The two main characters cry ALL THE TIME. Avishai is meant to be depressed, so that makes sense, but Noah is meant to be over six foot tall and masculine. And he also cries all the time.
There is an utterly cringe worthy scene where they explain to his father – who is a US Congressman, no less that “if you call anyone … a name that you would feel in any way offended or insulted being called, then my expert advice to you would be to think twice before calling them that." Yep, don’t call your kid queer. I’m just nitpicking, because the premise of the book is great - two teenage boys who attend a Jewish private school come out. But it’s written in a really melodramatic, overwrought manner.
When I finished the book I discovered that it was written for NaNoWriMo when the author was 15, which explained a lot. I would absolutely recommend that she keeps writing, under all the melodrama I think she showed a strong, confident authorial voice.
The two main characters cry ALL THE TIME. Avishai is meant to be depressed, so that makes sense, but Noah is meant to be over six foot tall and masculine. And he also cries all the time.
There is an utterly cringe worthy scene where they explain to his father – who is a US Congressman, no less that “if you call anyone … a name that you would feel in any way offended or insulted being called, then my expert advice to you would be to think twice before calling them that." Yep, don’t call your kid queer. I’m just nitpicking, because the premise of the book is great - two teenage boys who attend a Jewish private school come out. But it’s written in a really melodramatic, overwrought manner.
When I finished the book I discovered that it was written for NaNoWriMo when the author was 15, which explained a lot. I would absolutely recommend that she keeps writing, under all the melodrama I think she showed a strong, confident authorial voice.
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