Out: A Schoolboy's Tale

This book was an absolute joy to read, I'm struggling to find the words to convey how much I enjoyed it, no loved it. The language is flawless, the social and cultural references are spot on. I did find the chronology of some of the contemporary music a little confusing at times but I don't care I was reading a book about love and hope not a history book. There are also a few typos, some wrong and missing words that could do with tidying up but nowhere near enough to spoil my enjoyment.Every character is completely believable. And boy is it funny and moving in equal measure I have actually LOL'd and cried in this book many times. The last 30 minutes of reading left me in absolute pieces, I'm actually missing JP, Ali, Leo, Paulus and the others. This book should be required reading in schools. I'm now a little frustrated that I gave other books five stars as this book needs more. I will return to this wonderful read in the future. To the author, thank you for such a beautiful story.Over the weekend I re-read this book. Whilst it does have flaws, I have, once again, been deeply moved by this amazing book. I had also forgotten how funny it is, especially JP's dialogue. The emotions this book stir up are so strong, I'm not embarrassed to say there are several sections in the book that actually left me sobbing. Don't be put off by the negative reviews, this heartfelt story deserves to be read and enjoyed.

Other reviewers have pointed out the faults in some detail so I shall be relatively brief: the erratic time settings and cultural contexts - it is impossible to date when this is all happening. That is important because the homophobia referenced here is contextual - in short, this has changed over the years. In this book, those years are extremely flexible to suit the whims of the author.There are interminable lists - of classes, pupils, teachers and anything that the author can provide detail for. Do we really need a full page of a mathematical equation and its solution? The main character, it seems, is a gifted pianist, clarinetist, accompanist, writer, actor, rugby player .. and an advocate for gay rights when the time comes!There is a graphic description of his beating where he ends up strapped to the clothes pegs in the changing room - in a crucifixion pose, as far as i could work out. Broken, bleeding - he did everything except proclaim "Why hast thou forsaken me?" This character would be insufferable if he was at all believable. He isn't. And then ... all the homophobia goes way and everyone love him and his boyfriend.Drastic editing is needed. One reviewer has suggested that the author should start again. I would suggest: don't bother. It's awful.

A very good book in many ways: 1. It is set in England and by a British author - a nice change as most LGBT Young Adult books are American. 2. The book is well written and in parts very funny. 3. The main character is intelligent, sophisticated, has a remarkable talent and goes to an academically good school - so there is serious culture (music particularly) and some of the jokes are sophisticated. 4. There is a good sense of teenage life (in 1980) and humour. 5.The struggles Jonny has to go through are very real (even today) and well described.So why not five stars? The chronology is a problem. The story seems to be set in the latter part of 1980. There is good background material - the politics (the homophobia of the new Conservative government for example), the TV programmes, McCartney II released in spring of that year, the coming of AIDS and attitudes of that time. However, later items are incongruently introduced, for example, the demise of Gay Men's Press which happened in 2006 and dancing to 'Titanium' which was released in 2011. Why was this? Was it careless or was there a point? Is the author looking back or making some point about the present? I felt the first two thirds of the book brilliant but then it becomes rather derivative - the sudden conversion of most of the characters and the heros speaking in front of the whole school.

Don't waste your time.Unfortunately the author can't choose a time period and stick to it. References to characters from Grange Hill (1979-86 era), Mandela's forgiveness (1990), Rihanna's "We Found Love" (2011), major AIDS adverts (1987), Desmond Tutu being an Archbishop (1986-1996), GCSEs (introduced in 1988). The rampant homophobia and issues around age of consent further date this tale. There are references to a conservative government having to bail out an overspending Labour one (2010...or was it 1979?) and referencing WW1 being nearly 100 years ago alongside a Queens Christmas speech from 1980. Whether this is an attempt to make the story stand for all time, I do not know. If it was - it has failed.There were too many characters introduced who alternated between first name, surname and nicknames which makes it increasingly difficult to build a picture of any of them. The narrative jumps around too much to enable you to really form any sort of attachment to the story. I don't understand why practically every character ends up gay by the end - that's not how real life works. The rampant homophobia all but disappears after one impassioned speech by the protagonist and his teenage lover...come on.There is far too much inane detail on equations, book reports, games and German translations. The author would do well to trim the book in half or better yet start again.The semi graphic discussion of sexual acts also make for uncomfortable reading given the age of the protagonist, who is himself barely likeable. Why do the main couple suddenly refer to each other as "darling"? How many teenagers do that without being ironic or facetious?If it wasn't for a fervent need to never leave a book unfinished I would have stopped about 10% of the way through.