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Loading... Danny (edition 2015)by Steven Harper (Author)
Work InformationDanny by Steven Harper
None No current Talk conversations about this book.  presto | Jul 9, 2015 |  Awards
Danny Marina's new step-father takes him to the laser tag stadium, the movies, the go-kart track. He and his mother now have a new house and more money. Then Danny finds the cameras--in the living room, his bedroom, the shower. Which leads him to uncover the secret web site, the one devoted to him and his step-brother Eric. Danny's Mom doesn't believe him--doesn't want to believe him. Faced with the unthinkable as his stepdad brings home strangers, Danny and Eric hop a bus for Florida. Frightened, and only with each other for support, they flee to Aquapura, a crappy, decrepit resort town. But the streets of Aquapura have dangers of their own. A grinning hotel owner named Lucian ropes the boys into a prostitution ring, pimping them out to traveling businessmen who flash enough cash. The work crushes Danny's body and threatens to steal his soul. As an escape, Danny fills his notebook with a strange and secret story. He spins the tale of Ganymede, a teenaged boy from ancient Greece. Zeus, the king of gods himself, snatches Ganymede up to Mount Olympus, where he is pulled into a web of intrigue and adventure that threatens the very gods. As his life under Lucian's thumb worsens, Danny escapes deeper into Ganymede's fictional life. Except the more Danny writes about Ganymede, the more it becomes clear he's writing about himself. And over time, Ganymede's life crosses Danny's in strange and impossible ways. Danny needs to use Ganymede's strength to fight back and create a better life for himself and for Eric. But can a teenager use the power of a god? No library descriptions found. |
LibraryThing Early Reviewers AlumSteven Harper's book Danny was available from LibraryThing Early Reviewers.  Current DiscussionsNonePopular covers  
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Wikipedia in English
1
Danny sees no option other than to run away, and despite Eryx attitude towards him seeks to rescue him too and take him with him. So they escape to Florida, but to what? It seems to be a case of out of the frying pan into the fire.
We read Danny's story through his diary entries, were he also seeks refuge in his own imaginings as he recreates the story of Ganymede captured away from Earth by Zeus to become his lover, and where he meets Iris and Eros. But how much of this does Danny really imagine, and what is his connection with Ganymede, and what bearing does all this have on events taking place or about to occur. Stephen Harper weaves an intricate tale in which Danny and his new friends confront their fears and finally face up to those taking advantage, and in which a beautiful youth from a few thousand years past may have a bearing.
Danny is an appealing character, who is content to be without friends, although as he gets to know Eryx, and then Irene whom they encounter later, he not only learns the value but also the responsibilities of friendship. He also experiences a sexual awakening that is more than a little ambiguous.
Stephen Harper writes well and has created an engaging and increasingly gripping tale, and while dealing with a theme of sexual exploitation manages to keep the writing chaste leaving it very much to the reader to fill in the blanks after offering just a few hints as to what occurs between consenting boy/boy, boy/girl, boys/girl and non-consenting boy/man. (