The Boys on the Rock

Gay teen coming of age short novel set in Brooklyn & the Jersey Shore during the unsettled times of the assassination of Robert F. Kennedy during the primary season leading up to the 1968 Presidential election. Very insightful story of Billy trying to find his feet as somewhat 'different' in a time when acceptance of such was a mere fraction of what it is today. Found a very accurate portrayal as to the confusion when an individual's assumption of the gay stereotype does not neatly mesh with who they feel they are, leaving them in a kind of limbo......until life experiences slowly clear out the cloudiness.....I can totally relate..... This was a quick read that i appreciated..... it felt very genuine, but did not reach beyond my 3.5 show more rating. No complaints. Recommended if you want to get a glimpse of the angst experienced as one figures out where they fit in, in a world of expectations one cannot live up to. Genuine.....glad i read it! show less

It has been described as "a slight first novel with an uneasy blend of gay-pride preachiness, a faux-naive YA tone, and graphic sex." I thought it was "a juvenile debut—both punkily narcissistic and sloppily sentimental, but occasionally sharp in its place/time specifics." Nonetheless, it was a great short read.

Interesting book for it's time, released in 1985 but set in 1968. It's a 16 year old boy's coming of age and dealing with his homosexuality. Written very much in the style of a teenager. He's on the high school swim team and finds himself getting involved in a "relationship" with a co-worker at a McCarthy supporter office. At times he's very blunt about his sexual activities. He talks like an angst ridden teenager and then we'll find out later it was lies. I kind of have mixed feelings on the story over all. Although it's set in the late 1960's it really could be about anywhere and anytime up to when it was written and there after. Worth a read and I guess it's being not to set in it's time period does not make it dated, but somehow the show more time frame in the book seems off. show less

The Boys on the Rocks touches on many aspects of coming-out as a gay teenager pre-HIV/AIDS. Overall a good read for young adult attempting to understand the process or going through it themselves. It is interesting to see how far teen and young-adult literature has come in the past 30 years. The novel does include explicit descriptions of sex.

I'm a little ambivalent about this book. There were many things I liked, such as the protagonist's sense of self-worth and (once I got used to it) the writing style. But I never got a sense of *place* from this story. It was supposed to be 1968 but it could have been set anywhere, at any time. The ending left me unfulfilled. Maybe I'm missing something?

(Reviewed February 2004)

#819 in our old book database. Not rated.