Boy Toy

Unsettling and powerful. Although it has too neat of an ending, the untouched subject matter and honesty throughout make it work. Too often male victims of female predators, especially the "hot" ones, are discussed in the media in a titillating fashion, in a "lucky them" wink wink, nudge nudge kind of way. This book has the confusing and damaging emotions on full display and forces people to confront the rampage sexual abuse causes in the lives of young men as they struggle to come to terms with reality.

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.

It's a YA book about a high school student who had a sexual affair with a teacher when he was twelve. Now he's eighteen, about to graduate, and he is *angry*. And he has every right to be. He feels extremely ostracized, mostly by his self. He hangs onto what he has -- baseball and math, as he has flashbacks to his sexual assaults/incidents of abuse/molestations... I guess there's no real good word to call it. Because there's a huge double standard when it comes to this sort of thing. And it's nice that the story is written in such a way that there's no thing you can point to and say "if we eliminate that, this'll never happen again".

And it fascinates me. Not to diminish anyone who was in this situation but, as far as the "dominant, show more aggressive, older male with younger female" relationship goes in writing, it's been done to death. "Dominant, aggressive older female, younger male" is not. Especially with stories like Mary Kay Letourneau, Debra Lafave, and Pamela Rogers Turner. It follows the mental state of the boy nicely, as he struggles for normalcy in his current relationships, and how his past troubles color him. But he's really coloring himself.

Once again Lyga knocks it out of the park (baseball!). I haven't read a book of his yet that I didn't like profusely. I got exactly what I wanted -- an answer to the question of how a boy gets in a sexual relationship with a teacher. The only thing I wish was that we got a little more insight into the teacher. We never really learn her deal. Was she abused? Was she just unhappy? What was her motivation in starting this relationship? She makes a confession, so there has to be something in there. Maybe this is like real life, where the state keeps the victim and victimizer in the dark about each other's state. And that is the scariest part. show less

There is nothing comfortable about this book. I was completely pulled into Josh's world - both young Josh, believing he is seducing his teacher, and teen Josh, just barely surviving in a world where his most private affairs are a matter of public record. The horror of Josh's months of abuse is almost overshadowed by the resulting years of emotional exclusion by his parents, teachers and peers.
Even reading with an adult's eye, I felt my opinions also change as Josh reevaluated his views on love, family, and friendship.
I'd give this to older teens interested in realistic fiction.

http://lampbane.livejournal.com/598112.html

"Lyga is smart enough to give the reader exactly what they want to hear: the story of how it happened. After a few chapters of build-up, Josh finally gets around to telling the story of when he met the teacher, of why and how he started spending so much time with her, and even... well, you know. It's honest and direct, which gives everything after that (both in events and in the book) more meaning. It's just the right amount of eroticism, where it tells the story without being exploitative.

The one thing I really disliked was the relationship with the potential girlfriend. It's not that I dislike seeing characters get together, but it was not a relationship he pursued, instead almost forced down show more his throat by the girl, his best friend, and the best friend's girlfriend. Josh makes a comment about them all having some "perfect little fantasy" where they could all go on double-dates and go to the prom as a group and so on, and that just made me want him to get together with the girl even less since I didn't want them to get what they wanted, even if he should be with her. I also have to wonder how this would play if Josh was a female character—would her friends be so insistent that she get back on the dating horse? Would the matchmaking scheme still play out as endearing, or just creepy?

The ending was okay, though generally predictable, but the climax was what needed to happen, resolving any lingering doubts in Josh's (and my) mind." show less

Don’t let the title mislead you: this is not a charming coming-of-age story. This is about sexual abuse.

Twelve-year old Josh Mendel has a crush on his history teacher, Eve. When she starts paying him particular attention, he eats it up. What he fails to understand is that Eve is manipulating him into a sexual relationship.

Author Barry Lyga tackles a topic that is usually sugarcoated as a young boy initiated into the wonders of sex by an older, more experienced woman. Lyga addresses the power imbalance and abuse inherent in this type of relationship. While Josh may be ignorant of Eve’s deliberate designs, the reader is not. Lyga deftly rolls out the story of Josh’s becoming entangled in his own confusing, conflicting emotions until show more he believes he is the one who brings about Eve’s downfall and arrest.

Lyga alternates between twelve-year old and eighteen-year old Josh – during and after the abuse. When older Josh learns that Eve is to be released from prison for good behavior, he struggles to comprehend the guilt and shame he has carried around for so long. While his parents and his friend Rachel are concerned about how Eve’s release might be traumatizing for him, Josh isn’t even sure what his reaction is.

Lyga does not shy away from the graphic reality of the abuse. He captures beautifully the conflict Josh is desperate to untangle, and while Eve’s honesty at the end of the novel helps to bring the story to a close, life may not be quite this neat. Still, this is a small complaint amidst a powerful novel. show less

Boy Toy by Barry Lyga has to be one of the most disturbing but great books I've ever read. The subject matter is unsettling, to say the least, but the way the author handled it amazed me. The fact that this subject was handled so delicately and exertly by a male writer was phenomenal.The story begins with 12 year old Josh carrying a private crush on his History teacher, Eve. Large for his age, Josh is sucked into a very adult and inappropriate relationship with Eve. The truth emerges when Josh attends a birthday party for one of his friends, Rachel, and a game of spin the bottle gets out of hand. Due to his actions in this scenario, Josh's secrets comes out to devastating results.Now, years later, Josh is 17 and about to graduate high show more school without ever having a normal, healthy relationship, especially not one with a girl his own age. He is angry and hostile, and fights his own inner feelings about Eve, even while battling a growing attraction to the very girl, Rachel, who started the downfall of his affair long ago. Being inside Josh's head as he battles his inner thoughts, desires, guilt, and new feelings is inspiring, unsettling, and at times, very uncomfortable. Although this book is labeled for teens, I would definitely not recommend it for younger teens, as the nature of the subject matter is very adult, and some of the scenes are extremely frank and gratuitous. This story, however, is definitely worth the read.I had a very difficult time putting it down and ended up reading it in one sitting. At the end of the book, you find yourself feeling sad for Josh's discoveries, but also very satisfied for his future. show less