Blue Boy

At the beginning of Rakesh Satyal's debut novel Blue Boy, Kiran Sharma gets a big splinter in his butt while being tormented on a wooden balance beam by two of his bitchy sixth-grade classmates. Things still don't get notably easier for him after his humiliating foray into the playground -- it's not easy being an Indian-American in a white-bread Ohio suburb, and things aren't made easier for 12-year-old Kiran by his quirky personality, unusual interests (ballet, for one, as well as Strawberry Shortcake and her fruit friend Blueberry Muffin) or by his burgeoning sexuality.

I just adored this book. Satyal has written a book that's by turns laugh-out-loud funny and touching, and he's a gimlet-eyed observer of childhood. And Kiran is one of show more the most engaging characters you'll ever encounter -- a remarkable and flawed pre-teen who struggles to fit in with both his Midwestern classmates and his Indian circle of acquaintances even while recognizing, and trying to nourish, his own gifts and quirks.

If we could give half stars on this system, this one would get four and a half. show less

Kiran Sharma—the complex, precocious, brazen, stubborn, adventurous, and decidedly “different” 12 year-old Indian-American protagonist—is convinced that he is the Hindu god Krishna come to life. As a culturally and sexually marginalized boy living in the Cincinnati suburbs during the 1990s, persuading himself that no one seems to understand him because he is, in fact, a deity becomes both a coping mechanism and a means of identity development for the charming and infuriating main character of Rakesh Satyal’s *Blue Boy*.

Kiran’s command of language surpasses that of the typical 6th-grader. It probably surpasses the eloquence of many adults as well. His grammatical fastidiousness alienates him from his classmates (he even stays show more after school to study advanced language arts with one of his teachers). His penchant for spectacle and glamour—the school talent show is the highlight of his year—likewise distances him from his peers. And he fares no better with his fellow Indian-American acquaintances (whom he associates with mostly because their parents socialize on a weekly basis). Kiran is obsessed with his mother’s make-up—it is when she catches him that he decides he is an incarnation of the blue-skinned Krishna, and he begins to weave a grandiose narrative of his life as a nascent deity that justifies his thoughts and actions.

The novel—Kiran’s narrative—delightfully illustrates both the joy and the sorrow of young adolescent isolation. Kiran is an only child, and even within marginalized communities (Indian Americans, the sexually precocious, the academically advanced) he often finds himself alone. And while he is well-equipped with the skills to amuse himself in his solitariness, he also yearns for friendship, companionship, and understanding. Peppered with pop culture allusions and resounding with the authentic dimensions of adolescent life as a “different” kind of kid, Satyal’s novel is a valuable contribution to multicultural literature as well as Young Adult literature. show less

What a funny and insightful book! Between laughting out loud, I was deeply moved to recall those years or to empathize with the narrator of the book. I could say that this almost felt like a memoir--with elements that seemed to poignantly real to the struggle of growing up, growing up a minority and growing up gay. I was touched by this book that was moving and upbeat.

One of the nicest books I have read in a long long time. The style was breezy, lots of unexpected humor, a little sad, a bit poignant, often truthful and tell-it-like-it-is book. Satyal is very true to the Indian community that lives in the US. Kiran is an interesting, amusing, never-say-die kid. I salute the determination with which he tackles all his issues: you have to have a sense of admiration for this kid, and even understand his anger and depression and outbursts of violence. An excellently written story.

I've signed up to receive an email alert for Kindle Freebies from Advanced Kindle Alert website. This book was one of the first books I was lead to by this site. The subject nature was different from what I might normally read. It was free so I figured I didn't have much to lose. So, I pushed "Download to My Kindle" and didn't look back.

The narrator of this book is Kiran, a 12 year old Indian boy, growing up in Ohio who just doesn't seem to fit in anywhere. Boys his age have always caused him feel uptight and he finds he relates better to girls. He enjoys ballet, the school talent show, playing with dolls and putting on his mother's makeup. The kids he attends school with constantly poke fun of him, his Indian counterparts do the same, show more leaving him friendless and confused and questioning himself. One morning he wakes, looks in the mirror and is shocked to find his skin beginning to turn a faint shade of blue. With this metamorphosis, he finally thinks he has found the answers to his questions! The school talent show appears to be the perfect vehicle to introduce this newly discovered self to the world. Will Kiran's act be a success, will he finally get the recognition and approval he is seeking, or will this just be another failed attempt to unveil who he really is?

NOTE: This novel is a coming of age story, it is intended for mature audiences and contains explicit sex scenes. Though they are pertinent to the plot, they may not be suitable for all readers, especially those younger than 15 years old.

Book Discussion: This book hits on some pretty mature topics such as a preteen boy discovering his sexuality and coming to the revelation he may not be like all the other boys his age. It has explicit sexual references and some scenes in the novel, which are important to the story, but for me were just slightly uncomfortable for me to read. I'm definitely not a prude, but I think I found myself embarrassed because I was reading it through the eyes of a child. This is one of the main reasons I gave this book 3 stars instead of four, I felt guilty reading some parts and felt like if someone discovered what I was reading, he/she may not approve. In addition, I felt Kiran's language didn't exactly fit the vocabulary of a boy his age. Did anyone else feel this way? show less