Boy Toy

For those who want a quick synopsis: HOLY CRAP THIS WAS A GOOD BOOK!!!! For those who want a little more: HOLY CRAP THIS WAS A REALLY GOOD BOOK!!! Let me also say for the record that I usually avoid Young Adult and Romance titles like Microsoft and working operating systems! I usually read books by Stephen King, Eric Jerome Dickey, Zane, Vince Flynn, Joel Rosenberg, and Glen Duncan. My books usually have to have an NC-17 "rating" on them because I like a certain level of violence, sex, brutality, insane characters, and the like when I read. But like a lot of good books, this one found me. I was looking for something a little different and I saw Prey by Lurlene McDaniel and it got some favorable reviews. Then I saw a link to this book and it really caught my attention. It really did kind of just jump out at me. I ordered it and just devoured it!! I HATE that I already put out my Top 10 Books for 2008 already because this one would have definitely made it. This book deals with some pretty disturbing material so be warned. How the author deals with it is a main reason why I loved the book so durn much. Josh was sexually abused by his teacher when he was 12 years old and this book tells that story. From before Josh was abused, to during, and after. What I like about Josh was that he was... well... a freaking genius! This wasn't some poor boy from the streets that turned to his teacher because he had nothing else. No, quite the contrary. Josh has an amazing gift for numbers and it's stunning to see how fast he can calculate. One funny, jaw dropping part is when his friend Zik asks him to calculate the distance between two planets... IN INCHES! Yeah, well Josh does and the way he acts and answers is like "dude, can't you figure it out?" Oh, did I mention that Josh is also one heck of a baseball player? Yeah, not only is he a brilliant student but a jock ta-boot. Who wouldn't be attracted to him? Course it should be girls his age, not his mom's age!! Anyway, Josh like most American males (hell, me included) finds out that he has a crush on one of his teachers. The difference is: she likes him as well. It doesn't seem instantaneous but.... well you'll see. Josh has day (and night) dreams about this woman who is aptly named Eve. Eve, just like her namesake, is a seducer and proceeds to do just that. Once they start the affair the sex talk does pick up, but it's not in a salacious way. It's there because IT HAS TO BE and Mr. Lyga does an amazing job of telling us about their sexual tryst without going "HBO at Night" on us. There are also some unexplained situations that you don't find out answer too until the end of the book and you can't help but come up some conclusions on your own... only to find out they were wrong. The only time I felt "sorry" for Josh is when he had his "flashbacks". You really see just how sexual abuse can really mess with your head. Even with somebody as talented and smart as Josh. There rea

Aside from its deceptively cutesy title, there is nothing simple about "Boy Toy." In this striking complex, very adult story, Barry Lyga introduces us to a troubled young man, Josh Mendel, who was involved in a sexual relationship with his history teacher at age twelve. As Josh grapples with the harsh consequences that these inappropriate encounter has on his present day life, he is forced to recount the affair with Mrs. Sherman--who liked him to call her Eve--to Rachel, a girl that Josh himself nearly sexually assaulted years ago. I'm not going to lie; I almost stopped reading the book. The subject matter is really intense, especially early on when it is revealed that Josh, as a[...] nearly raped Rachel because he was acting on the sexual impulses that his affair with Mrs. Sherman taught him. However, these characters are so complex--yes, even Eve Sherman, who would have been an arch villain in a lesser writer's hands--that you can't help but continue reading. One hundred pages in, the desire to run away while I still had a chance was replaced with a tense captivation, a longing to know what happens next. This is apparently Barry Lyga's second novel... and I say apparently because that is a hard fact to swallow. His style is so advanced, and he is so successful at exposition, character development, and dialogue that you would think he's been writing for years. The book is edgy and not at all afraid to make the characters and often the reader feel uncomfortable, but that didn't turn me off. It just made the story telling that much more intense. "Boy Toy" is a disturbing, complex, hopeful, and delicately written novel that, through it's complexity, totally transcends the young adult genre. Barry Lyga is definitely a writer to watch, and this, I feel, is a book that everyone should read. 9/10

I was expecting another teen-angst ridden sports story. Instead, I found Josh who the story centers around and his struggles. Josh plays baseball, but he does not let that fact consume him. He is also an excellent scholar. Somehow in his quest being competitive has driven his grades. Now as a high school senior, he has missed out on a lot of events in his life due to a secret that he feels hangs over his head. Josh is surrounded by really good friends: Zik, Michelle and Rachael. He also has the confidence of his therapist Dr. Kennedy. Josh does appear to be oppositional to authority figures but as the story unfolds, I found that Josh is not a rebel at all. I loved Josh's friendships. And it is a testimony to the type of person Josh is that his friends do not leave him through his crisis. I found the story compelling and well told a credit to Barry Lyga's writing style. Due to the high nature of the teen sexual exploration in this book, I would not recommend this story to anyone younger than high school.

In BOY TOY, author Barry Lyga takes readers on an incredible journey into a world that, for some, like main character Josh Mendel, is all too real. Josh's life was changed at age twelve when his teacher took the role of educator far beyond the limits of acceptable behavior. Lyga's story does not cut corners or mince words. He is straightforward and direct in telling Josh's story. His graphic descriptions may have earned him criticism, but they have also made his story a powerful one. Josh Mendel loves baseball. He is a wiz at math. His best friend, Zik, seems to be the one with the rocky home life and all the problems, but not for long. Mrs. Evelyn Sherman is the new history teacher recently transferred from the local high school to the middle school. She is drop-dead gorgeous. All the boys probably find it a bit embarrassing to stand up and leave the classroom some days. Josh certainly does. Josh's involvement with Mrs. Sherman begins when she praises his writing and asks him to help her with a project for her graduate class. Honored and excited, Josh is eager to help. Problems at home make staying after school, and later actually going home with Mrs. Sherman, a convenience for Josh and his parents. He begins spending more and more time with her even after her project is complete. At first, being in Mrs. Sherman's apartment everyday after school is exciting, because Josh gets to play unlimited video games, drink Coke, and hang out with an attentive, beautiful woman. His time in the apartment becomes even more fascinating when Mrs. Sherman begins inviting him to help her cook dinner and sip wine with her. Then kisses begin - tentative and then passionate. The passion moves from petting to full-on sexual experimentation. Josh is addicted. There are feelings of guilt, but those feelings are outweighed by the incredible physical pleasure Mrs. Sherman offers. Life is spiraling out of control. The world comes crashing down when Josh finds himself playing spin the bottle with Rachel. He and Rachel have been friends on the baseball field for as long as he can remember, but when Josh's newfound experience turns the innocent teenage game too sexually explicit, Rachel runs screaming to her parents. The "game" is over, and Josh's secret is about to come out in the open. BOY TOY is not a short romp between the sheets. In fact, it has raised many eyebrows in the world of YA literature. Readers will see exactly what went on with Mrs. Sherman, but they will also see deeply into the world of a young man trying to continue with life, make amends to his friends, and make plans for his future. It has a strong, powerful story to tell, and it tells that story well. Reviewed by: Sally Kruger, aka "Readingjunky"