Eight Seconds

Eight Seconds by Jean Ferris (Harcourt, Inc., 2000) tells the story of John Ritchie who lives on a working ranch near the Rocky Mountains with his parents and four sisters. He is 18 years old and feels out of place for many reasons. Besides being an only boy with so many sisters, he had to miss a year of school because of heart surgery and, so, is just finishing his junior year instead of graduating with the students who are his own age. His father shows him favoritism and has high expectations of him. His mother is inflexible and disapproves of the favoritism shown to him by his father. John loves working with horses and takes an opportunity to attend a rodeo school during the summer. He looks forward to escaping his familiar life for six days and plans to enter the many rodeos that will be held at the upcoming county fairs. Bobby, his best friend, attends the school, too, and also, Russ, the local, big-mouthed troublemaker. John and Bobby meet Matt and Kit. Matt and Bobby opt for cow roping while John and Kit decide to learn how to ride bulls. John and Kit become fast friends, but when John returns home he learns from his older sister that Kit is gay. Throughout the rest of the summer, the boys continue to see each other at the fairs where they participate in the rodeos. John struggles with what he has learned about Kit. Russ finds out and Kit's sexual orientation becomes common knowledge and a point of contention. The second half of the book deals with John's attempts to come to grips with this new problem in his life and how that process reveals truths and changes his existence. The story, in an unoffending manner, gives insight into a growing social issue.

John went to a rodeo school to learn to ride bulls. John learns His new best friend, Kit is gay. Now John has to deal with riding bulls and pressure from his friends and family because they think being gay is indecent . Now riding bulls is easy compared to dealing with reality. He has to deal with his own sexuality and find out what is more important to him. What his friends and family think,or his friendship with Kit. I liked this book because I am interested in rodeo,and suggest anyone else who is interested in a rodeo drama to read this book.

The world of bull riding is not anything that I'm familiar with. Growing up in the suburbs, my life was skateboarding and walking down to the U-Totem to pick up the latest Archie comic book. But one great thing about dating is that you constantly and endlessly exposed to the new. My boyfriend, a rodeo fan, picked up this book on a recent trip and devoured it, and handing it to me saying "Read this". I did, and found a beautiful, intriguing coming out tale.John Ritchie is the main character, a normal teenage boy whose life on the ranch is seemingly idyllic. He has a family that loves him, chores to do, and a vision for his future, well as strong a vision that a teenage boy could have. His father suggests that he attend a rodeo school, which John cannot wait to attend. Going with his best friend Bobby, he meets Kit, a tall, strong cowboy with whom he feels an immediate attachment. Kit and John become friends, and spend their time at rodeo camp discussing how they've always felt different from others. Upon returning home from camp, John learns his new friend, challenging him to the core, both about his beliefs about homosexuality and his own internal struggling with it.Ferris does something wonderful with this story. She allows John's eventual discovery of who he is to come slowly and naturally. It's both sweet and without much fanfare, but powerful enough to launch John on the rocky and uneven path of acceptance we've all walked. For anyone just coming out, this book shows that path, a small section of it, as a positive step forward.Set in the world of rodeos, this book also serves as a primer for those of us city folk uninitiated with that world. The rodeo scenes were authentic and honest, and why anyone would want to sit on a bull for eight seconds is beyond me, but you appreciate the characters desires to do so.Eight Seconds is a powerful, simple coming out story, with an interesting, unexpected ending, that left me thinking for days, as I'm sure it would you.

A good book should take you to someplace new; new surroundings, new emotional territories, new ideas. Jean Ferris has done that in this book. In addition to the slightly exotic (to an Easterner, at least) world of Rodeo and Bull Riding,the delicate handling of a young man's heart facing a truth that will change him forever, is beautifully rendered.Johnny's thoughts on realizing that he is gay, and that facing that truth isn't nearly as bad as denying it, say it all:"Maybe love was love, no matter who was doing it, and if you found it, you should be glad, because it wasn't such an easy thing to find."A sensitive subject, sensitively handled. I hope this book gains a wide readership. It touched my heart.

John thinks that when he had open-heart surgery as a child, maybe the doctors forget to replace an essential piece, because he doesn't want to marry Kelsey, his girlfriend who is pushing for an after-graduation commitment. Eager to escape, John is thrilled when his dad signs him up for rodeo camp, where he discovers an odd and deep kinship with Kit. Upon his return home, John is stunned to learn that the confident and poised young man is openly gay at his college. John is forced to make fast and tough choices about his views on homosexuality as the news spreads. The local bully, Russ, begins tormenting Kit at local rodeos - and then finds John guilty by association. In a startling climax, John blames Kit for his confusion and scapegoathood and attacks him, pushed over the edge by Russ's comments. It takes a little too long for the protagonist to realize what the reader already suspects: that John too may be gay. His inner turmoil is only beginning when the book ends. To give her credit, Ferris doesn't take the easy way out, and the ending is not what most readers will be rooting for, but it is a fitting one that will hopefully tug at heartstrings and increase awareness and tolerance. The book is a step in the right direction for teaching tolerance and breaking down stereotypes. The cover art is a bit juvenile. The cowboy on the cover looks like a scrawy kid in a too-big hat, and may be a turnoff to teens, and they will miss out on a wonderful story about the things you can't control - and the things you can. Eight Seconds is definitely another contender for best books for young adults from Ferris, and the subject matter itself demands purchase; libraries with small budget may want to wait for the paperback in the hopes of a more attractive cover.