Foster High, in John Goode's series, doesn't sound like a high school I'd ever want to attend. The older I get, the more I hope things are changing for teens since just the hormonal changes and identity crises are enough to bear without adding the trauma of social pressure and, God forbid, education for more stress.
My review of
End of the Innocence went live today at All About Romance. It's one of the genuine angst books. Genuine, in this case, means angst born of real suffering. When football player Kelly is outed, his former friend Brad, who came out earlier, knows that life won't be pleasant for him. That Kelly, the player, has been an ass most of his life won't help him come to terms with who he really is because no one but the gentle, lovable Kyle will really stand by him. The irony is that Kelly is the person who gave Kyle the most trouble about being gay. Talk about reaping what one sows.
I loved the way the narrative went back and forth from the optimistic Kyle to the realistic Brad. As I said in the title to this blog, Goode is good, right up until the end of the book when he gets a little didactic. Until then, angst is the name of the game and will make older readers glad they aren't in high school anymore.
Fortunately for all of us, the quicker we forget those painful years, the better. The quicker we get on with our real lives, the happier we should be. And the faster we learn who we really are, the quicker we can move into adulthood.
