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Written by Leon Velasco
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Monday, 12 July 2010 |
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The Boys and the Bees
Author Joe Babcock
Rated: Two snaps up with a twist
I really liked this storyline because it took me way back to when I was in elementary school. (This, may I add, was not long ago.)I still remember the little sexual flings my and I had. My “friends” and I didn’t know really what we were doing but had a sense of belonging to each other. This story can really make a person related with inner conflicts of ones own personal identity and sexual frustration of not understanding what to make of the whole thing. (Talk about your Jekyll and Hyde personality.)
James loves his friend Andy. Andy is falling hard for Mark. And mark is …straight? Things are not always what they seem in a sixth grade catholic school class, as this charming and bittersweet novel shows.
Twelve-year-old Andy immerses himself in his love for comic books—when he’s not thinking about Mark, the captain of the basketball team, or dodging the pinings of his childhood friend, James. Ever since adolescence made James’ sexuality more apparent to his peers, Andy fears he will be exposed just by association. The only way to change his social status and get closer to Mark is to try out for the basketball team, which seems like a hopeless cause, not only because he can’t play, but because he sure Mark is more interested in the popular female student all the boys are after. Mark may be a jock, but one should never assume that means he’s straight…
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