Wednesday, July 23, 2008

Boy Girl Boy

Bibliography: Koertge, Ron. (2007). Boy Girl Boy. Orlando: Harcourt, Inc. 164 pp.

Genre: Young adult, fiction, friendship, homosexuality, self-discovery

Synopsis:
"I'd be safe and warm...If I was in L.A....California dreamin'...On such a winters day..." Elliot, Teresa, and Larry, three childhood friends from small town Illinois, have for years planned to run away to California after their high school graduation. In the final months before they take their flight, these inseparable friends live through a series of events that lead to new questions and discoveries and to each examining his and her "Westward" pledge to the trio.

Review: The opening chapter of Koertge's Boy Girl Boy sets both the form and feel of the book: "Everything looks different told from different ways." Koertge tells the story of the three California-destined teenagers, Elliot, Teresa, and Larry from three different perspectives; that of Elliot, the underestimated jock; Teresa, who does well in school, but who struggles emotionally with the weight of a mother who abandoned her and her father, and her father's attempted suicide and disconnection; and Larry, who realized when he was thirteen that he is gay and must now navigate very gingerly throughout his "small-town" community.

I enjoyed the multiple perspectives of the issues the three deal with throughout the book. On the other hand, I felt like Koertge was often broad on the issues and did not delve beneath the surface of the individuals. Nonetheless,
I would keep the book on my shelf for individual students who had familiarity with, or interest in the issues raised (abandonment, homosexuality, growing up, drugs, death/violence, self-perception, expectations, and religion). Furthermore, while some of the topics of the book squelch Boy Girl Boy from being an option for whole-class reads, a teacher could find ways of including sections of the book for a broader lesson: teaching "perspective" is of course one lesson that jumps out straight away; and individual excerpts may help to highlight and open discussion on various issues.

Because of the nature of some of the topics in Boy Girl Boy, I recommend readers in their junior or senior year.

1 comment:

reading rachael said...

I think this novel sounds great! It seems like adolescents would be able to connect with at least one of the plethera of topics that are touched on in this novel. It also sounds like it would be a fun read with the three different perspectives but simple enough so that students would not get lost. I will definitely have to add this to my reading list! Thanks so much for the suggestion!