Pebble in a Pool

I recently read The Blue Lawn and was dissaspointed in Taylor's effort to portray an unrelaistic, abstainance-based teenage relationship and finished with much dissapointing open ending. Pebble in a Pool: A Novel however was much better, showing a large improvment from his last gay novel. Pebble in a Pool: A Novel is not excellent but i think is much worth the read even if there was room for improvement.

It really is not important how realistic this story is, or if it could Really happen, the point is it is an emotional, complex story that is certainly well-written and a satisfying read for a lazy afternoon or evening. The characters are believable, and the story is full of action and emotional turmoil for these two main characters that are on the brink of manhood. High school senior Adrian drinks too much one night, and in a terrible car accident is paralyzed and his girlfriend is killed. In the meantime, high school senior Paul, speaks out in defense of another high school senior who was killed in a gay-bashing murder. Paul's fundamentalist father kicks him out and Paul ends up living with a local artist, named Steve, who helps him. Paul's growing awareness of his being gay, coupled with his attempt to deal with his fanatic father, and also deal with the town's gay bashers, is a lot to handle for this young man. Paul's being on his own leads to unexpected love, and emotional consequences he never expected. At the same time, Adrian is due to go on trial for manslaughter, and it's at this point in the story that Paul & Adrian's lives become more involved in ways they never expected. This is a story of unexpected friendship, love, and the struggle to do what's right, no matter what the consequences. It's a short book, but there's a lot of story here. Taylor knows how to successfully bring the struggles of young people today to the written page. Joe Hanssen