Rated of 5
by Nancy F. (Carmel, IN) Not my "cup of tea"
I have read a number of books on the issue of sexual identity. I was looking forward to reading this story as described. I felt the first third of the book was interesting however, the author's style of sharing the intimate internal conversations of all the characters was too much dialogue. I wanted plot to be to move faster and a desire for more interpersonal dialogue. I appreciate the importance of this topic and I do hope authors will continue to shed light on this important dilemma.
Rated of 5
by Mary J. (La Quinta, CA) Swept Away!
I received The Golden Boy this past Thursday and finished it yesterday morning! This may be a debut book but Abigail Tarttelin can certainly weave a tale. I could not put it down. The story line is one I have never heard of but she nails it. This is an absolute must read!
Rated of 5
by Amy F. (West Roxbury, MA) Golden Boy by Abigail Tarttelin
Max's story of an intersex teenager takes all the teenage angst and magnifies the issues. I thought the story was amazing. I liked the shifting vantage points in the book, which allowed you to see things through Max's eye's, his brother Daniel, his mother, his father and his girlfriend Sylvia. Despite the rareness of being XX/XY intersex, the angst, trauma and emotion felt extremely really especially for Max and his mother. I am not sure that based on the description I would pick this book up at random to read, but I am so glad that I had the opportunity to read it because it is wonderful.
Rated of 5
by Jill M. (Petaluma, CA) Golden Boy
Something tells me Golden Boy is going to be widely read, debated and discussed. I needed to take some time to think about the impact and meaning of the book for a while after finishing it. It came to me that no one in the story was "wrong" in what (s)he did in dealing with the challenging intersex anatomy of Max--except of course Hunter, his former best friend. What a great book for discussion at book clubs. This is a tremendous work for such a young author. The wordiness bogged down for me in the second half. I'd love to know if this was the case for others.
Rated of 5
by Gail G. (Northbrook, Illinois) Golden Boy BY Abigail Trattein
Terrific story with mostly well developed characters. I became so emotionally involved with the main character, Max Walker , and all that he went through, I couldn't read through to the end of the book, I had to go to the book's end to see if he came through all he experienced ok. It would be very difficult to place myself in Karen's (mother) and Steve's (father) position and make the decisions that had to be made for Max. Their reactions were totally understandable but not necessarily correct.The brother's behavior was normal in the considering that his brother was "perfect" and could do no wrong so he thought his parents loved him less than they did Max
The story was unique in its content and very gut wrenching for the reader. The character I found difficult to believe was Sylvie, the girlfriend,She was too wise for her age but very good for Max in his troubled life. The bad boy Hunter's behavior was expressed so realistically it almost made me sick to my stomach to read it.
I would recommend this book to teens as well as older readers and book clubs.
Rated of 5
by Susan B. (Rutledge, MO) Moving, maybe too heartbreaking?
I found this book well-written and thought-provoking, but also painfully, often needlessly, heart-wrenching. If you are interested in gender issues you should certainly check it out, but know that the story is driven by intense drama resulting from secret-keeping; secrets I think shouldn't have been kept. The issues involved are compelling enough that had the characters told the truth about themselves and the situations they found themselves in, how they dealt with it would still have made a fantastic story, but one far less agonizing. I assume the author wanted the reader to understand how intense and difficult these issues can be, but the secrecy element severely diluted the impact for me. Despite this, I think it is quite worth reading.
Stranger than fiction, blending tragedy and farce, How to Create the Perfect Wife is an engrossing tale of the radicalism, and deep contradictions, at the heart of the Enlightenment.
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U.S. ebook sales up in 2012, but rate of growth is slowing(May 16 2013) In 2012, trade book sales (i.e. non academic book sales) rose 6.9%, to $15.049 billion, and e-book sales continued to grow, although the rate of growth...
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by Nancy F. (Carmel, IN) 
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by Mary J. (La Quinta, CA) 
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by Jill M. (Petaluma, CA) 
