Ronald L. Donaghe

I had this book in my possession for awhile but put off reading it because it starts off with a suicide, and I knew the whole book was going to be pretty depressing. So I had to be in the right frame of mind to read it. Once I got into it, it flowed pretty smoothly. I really liked the narrator Kelly, and I have much of the same views as him on the Religious Right and all that, so even when he had to tell about all the prayers, church-speak, etc. that was going on, he did it so as not to show more completely turn off the casual reader. But he gave you enough of a look into this world to let you know how disturbing it all is. The fact that Kelly could keep his sense of humor, as well as self-awareness as to his level of brainwashing (he was always questioning himself as to if it was working on him or not) made you fall in love with him. The disturbing part of the book is that, even though this is a work of fiction, you know places like this exist out there, and many are even worse than the one depicted here. Donaghe has told a very scary tale here.

On a scale of 1 to 10, it's an 7. show less

It was a touching coming of age story and I'm glad I had a chance to read it. If it weren't for BookCrossing and the Book relay site for opening my eyes to all sorts of books that I wouldn't otherwise come across and read. It is a truely enriching experience.

Another gay coming of age romance, but it is still a fun read.

Boys in love in a small town in New Mexico in 1965.