Reviewed by Sally Kruger aka "Readingjunky" for TeensReadToo.com

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. ( )

Barry Lyga writes a powerful story in which he holds nothing back. Boy Toy's written back and forth between Josh's flashbacks from 5 years ago and the present. At any given time, you're chance to be wondering what Josh's thinking, and later you find out. Joshua has withdrawn himself, and avoided Rachel, because of the incident 5 years ago, until he bumps into her. Now he must face himself and open up with the truth. The plot kept me flipping pages, waiting to see what Josh would do next. Josh was a great narrator, his voice was pleasant and kept you reading. I definately will be checking out Barry Lyga's other works! ( )

Based on the cover title, some of you might think Boy Toy lacks substance. I mean, what can you expect with a title like that, not to mention the curvaceous figure of the woman? Well, you’ve got it all wrong because this is 409 pages of literary YA…yes, “literary.” The boy toy in question is actually a boy and the conflict faced by this boy is more of the sinister kind.
At the age of 12, the life of Josh Mendel shatters as innocently as a shard of ice pricked into his skin; he learns how to please a woman, but to put it that way it seems something pleasantly memorable. And, in a way, this is true. He was truly in lust with his 6th grade teacher, Eve Sherman, but his teacher is a pedophile. What she teaches him turns his life upside down. See full review at http://athenasbooks.blogspot.com ( )

Merideth says: Josh, athletic and smart is, now a senior in High School. Josh was manipulated into a sexual relationship with his teacher, Eve, when he was 12 years old. Despite years of counseling, Josh still suffers guilt and shame surrounding the events. When he learns that Eve is being paroled, it sets off a series of climatic events.

This is a book of extremely powerful moments, that make the entire book seem better than it actually is. The flashback scenes, in which Josh describes his relationship with Eve, are the most arresting, as the reader understands the situation in ways that Josh cannot. The scenes after the relationship is discovered, in particular, are very vivid. The part of the book set in the present is much weaker, as Lyga can't seem to decide what he wants us to think. Josh is not particularly likable or sympathetic, and in some ways that works to the book's advantage, as it throws the reader off kilter. On the other hand, it does make you sympathize with those who dislike him. Josh's obsession with baseball statistics fell flat for me, as I don't know enough about baseball to have them inform the text, nor do I care enough to find out.

The ending of this book was a little to pat, a little to perfect. Much has been made about the sex scenes in this book, which I will say, strayed too far into bodice-ripper territory for me. ( )

This was a frank, realistic look at an very under-explored, misunderstood topic. I was extremely impressed by how deftly Lyga handled this; so many people romanticize child molestation when it’s a woman who is the offender. There is none of that in this story. You get to see how the abuse affected Josh, his parents and his friends, and you even gain some understanding of Eve (nice symbolic name there)'s motivations. ( )

Josh was 'sexually molested' during his seventh grade year by his very attractive female history teacher. It started VERY slow, she would take him home after school and he would play video games while she corrected papers, etc. Until just before Christmas, when they started making out. And then eventually having sex. And then in March (I think), the story comes out and a trial begins. Much of this story is told in flashbacks, from five years later. Josh goes to a therapist on a regular basis still, but has never opened up enough to truly start the healing process. Compelling and grotesque at the same time. ( )

Josh, a bright baseball-mad 17-year-old, is still suffering from the sexual relationship he had with Eve, his 25-year-old history teacher when he was twelve. His problems come to a head when she is released from prison. ( )

I thought this was a great book and was hard to put down. Lyga did a great job tackling a really tough subject... a young woman teacher taking advantage of and molesting her 7th grade male student. The main character, Josh, seemed like a real teenager and it was interesting being in his head as he worked through his issues, 5 years after the fact. Pretty graphic at times, but a great read all around. ( )

really really good
really inopropiate haha
highskool should read.. ( )

Wow. I wasn't expecting to enjoy this book at all; the subject matter is just a bit too much for me. (I had to read it for a conference).
That said, I loved Lyga's writing and his style. He captures all the feelings of being a teen so well, it's amazing. He tackles the PTSD of Joshua in such a way that the reader can understand what it feels like.
I would feel comfortable giving this to an older teen. Pair it with Jo Knowles' "Lessons from a Dead Girl." ( )

Josh was sexually involved with one of his teachers when he was 12. Five years later, he is still having flashbacks and thinks it was his fault. ( )

only took me 24 hours. Mary Kay LeTourneau-style but from the perspective of the boy who was abused, five years later. Very intense. ( )

Josh, athletic and smart is, now a senior in High School. Josh was manipulated into a sexual relationship with his teacher, Eve, when he was 12 years old. Despite years of councilling, Josh still suffers guilt and shame surrounding the events. When he learns that Eve is being paroled, it sets off a series of climatic events.

This is a book of extremely powerful moments, that make the entire book seem better than it actually is. The flashback scenes, in which Josh describes his relationship with Eve, are the most arresting, as the reader understands the situation in ways that Josh cannot. The scenes after the relationship is discovered, in particular, are very vivid. The part of the book set in the present is much weaker, as Lyga can't seem to decide what he wants us to thinkg. Josh is not particuarly likeable or sympathetic, and in some ways that works to the book's advantage, as it throws the reader off kilter. On the other hand, it does make you sympathise with those who dislike him. Josh's obsession with baseball statistics fell flat for me, as I don't know enough about baseball to have them inform the text, nor do I care enough to find out.

The ending of this book was a little to pat, a little to perfect. Much has been made about the sex scenes in this book, which I will say, strayed too far into bodice-ripper territory for me. ( )

When Josh was in 8th grade he was sexually mollested by his english teacher. Now he is 18 and he is learning to deal with the trauma that has been inflicted on him. The book starts with Josh learning that his teacher is getting out of jail and tells the story of Josh's seduction in flashbacks. Although a difficult topic I think readers will be drawn into this book and want to know what happens to all the characters in the end. There is sex; although not explicit; be warned. ( )

Another one to add to my list of favorites. This book was wonderful. It grabbed me from the first page and never let go, ( )

This book was disturbing and super compelling. I seriously could not put it down. The story starts when Josh is 18. He's messed up. No, I mean really messed up. When he was 12, his history teacher sexually abused him. And what's worse? Her detailed confession made its way on to the internet and Josh is sure that all of his classmates and teachers know exactly what he did with her. And what's WORSE? Mrs. Sherman is getting out of jail. Early. Right now.

Because of the abuse, Josh made a mistake with one of his friends. Rachel liked him, but he didn't know how to deal with it and an innocent game of Seven Minutes in Heaven (well, somewhat innocent anyway) ended disastrously. Rachel hasn't spoken to him in 5 years. Math, baseball, and his best friend Zik (who has never, ever asked him about what happened with Mrs. Sherman) are the things that get him through the day. Then Josh accidentally runs into Rachel one night and they start talking again. Josh begins to tell her his story. The whole story. The story he never told anyone except the police.

It's a roller coaster of emotions and even though Josh's story was truly disturbing, I couldn't put it down. I had to get to the end so I could see if he survived, if he could overcome what happened to him. This book is not for everyone. Graphic sexual situations between a teacher and her student will be hard to take for some. But it's a very powerful story. I was rooting for Josh the whole way through. ( )

http://librarygrl.wordpress.com/2007/... ( )

Lyga's controversial new young adult novel was creating quite the stir on my librarian listserv, so I figured I needed to see what the fuss was all about. My findings? This is a great YA problem novel that needs to be high schools. Basically it's about a teenage high school boy who has trouble dating girls. He's cute, a great athlete, and extremely smart. So why does he have trouble? When he was 12 years old his social studies teacher seduced him. Yep, that's right. This novel tells his story in flashbacks. Sure, he thought his teacher was hot and was pleased when she started inviting him over to his house. But now he has to deal with her getting out of prison. And the flashbacks every time he tries to touch another girl. He knew how to act with a twenty-four year old woman. But he's not sure what to do with a teenage girl. His shrink helps. But his parents had a difficult time recognizing his abuse earlier, and they aren't much help now. Baseball helps. His best friend Zik helps. And his returned closeness with Rachel helps, too.

Some librarians are skeptical about placing this novel in their library, but I think it needs to be here. Sometimes teachers abuse students, and this book shows what happens to students after the abuse. ( )

This is an engrossing, but at times very difficult to read, examination of the effect of sexual abuse on a young teen. Josh experiences "flickers", or flashbacks of his abuse for five years and finally begins to understand the role and responsibility of himself and his abuser. Very memorable and haunting, recommended for older teen readers and adults who enjoy edgy and/or realistic fiction. ( )

Striking out on a baseball bet forces a teen to face past emotional scars. At age 13, Joshua Mendel’s history teacher molested him for three weeks and changed the rest of his life. 5 years later, the 18-year-old baseball star is preparing to graduate and working on restoring his damaged relationship with Rachel, a childhood crush. When Eve Sherman is released from prison, Mendel realizes he must confront her in an attempt to gain the answers to the questions that have haunted him for all those years. Blending present events with extensive flashbacks, Lyga creates a tightly paced narrative that explores psychological turmoil without resorting to either clinical terminology or oversimplification. Authentic and fresh, the narrative voice develops along with Mendel, gaining experience but never overpowering the tortured undertones. Lyga’s portrayal of the fight between Mendel and Eve Sherman’s husband is riveting and tense; the main character’s later reflections on that confrontation are equally powerful. Deftly weaving together a painful confession and ambiguous ending, Lyga’s dynamic writing style creates an emotionally wrenching and haunting tale. ( )