What I Know Now

Fourteen year old Dave Ryan is living with his mother after she split with his father. They are making a home for themselves in the place his mother grew up, his late grandmothers house. Along with that they are establishing a new garden, his mother has employed Gene Tole, a young and handsome horticulturalist to design and plant the garden. Gene in turn enlists the help of young Dave, encouraging a budding interest in plants. But it encourages a lot more too, for Dave sees in Gene everything is father is not, a thoughtful, gentle and caring man, and a real friend. Ryan relates events that cover less than a year as the garden is established, we observe him try to understand his growing love for Gene, and come to terms with his feelings for his cold and distant father, and his older brother. It is a gentle story that could easily end in tragedy were it not for the tolerant attitude of the young Dave as he makes a startling discovery about Gene on the eve of Gene's departure for a new job, a discovery which will surely be the making of the young man. What I Know Now is a beautifully told story that convincingly manages to see life from the perspective of a growing boy. It is a occasionally funny, often witty, always warm and involving, it is above all a most delightful story.

A heartwarming and well written account of one boy's struggle to understand others and himself. We need more books for adults (both young and old) that explore the questions of human sexuality, love and family in such an eloquent, careful manner.

Rodger Larson has written a beautiful book about a sensitive young man's struggle to figure love out. The setting and characters are richly described, and the story is simple but moving. The protagonist, Dave, turns 14 in the summer of 1957. His parents' separation and a subsequent move has turned his life upside down, but in the midst of the turmoil of these new developments, Dave meets Gene Tole, a gardener, who offers him a different vision of being a man. The book deals with complex issues such as masculinity and homosexuality, but it never loses the sweetness and gentleness that makes it a delight to read.