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Gay Youth Chronicles Complete Chronology #11
A Better Place
What do the poorest boy in town and the captain of the football
team have in common? More than you might think. Casper has nothing, but a trio of bullies who hound him, a distant father and an older brother who makes his life a living hell. Brendan has it all; muscles, money, fame and popularity. The boys come from different worlds, but both share a constant desire.
A Better Place is the story of an unlikely pair, who struggle through friendship and betrayal, hardships and heartbreaks, to find the desire of their hearts, to find a better place.
team have in common? More than you might think. Casper has nothing, but a trio of bullies who hound him, a distant father and an older brother who makes his life a living hell. Brendan has it all; muscles, money, fame and popularity. The boys come from different worlds, but both share a constant desire.
A Better Place is the story of an unlikely pair, who struggle through friendship and betrayal, hardships and heartbreaks, to find the desire of their hearts, to find a better place.
330 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2001
About the author
Mark A. Roeder
99 books198 followersMark A. Roeder grew up in southern Indiana - near a small town similar to those that appear in his novels.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 50 reviews
September 5, 2010
I hate it… very much.
No, I’m not saying that I hate this book, but the feeling I get reading it. Are you confused? Well, please think about something: you have your good live. Is not perfect, but you are happy, in a good house, with a loving one near you (family or a partner) trying to stay exactly as you are now… happy and enclosed in your perfect or almost perfect little world. So you are there and start to read this book, and all the walls that enclose you, the ones you created, fall down so hard that you stay chocked.
That’s what I hate so much. The feeling that I CAN do more to help this world became a better place... Is so sad, read a fiction book that is so realistic!
To who will read it, I just want to say that it's a remarkable book, and I was addicted to Brendan and Caspar love story… I cry so long, not for the suffering of this fictional characters, but thinking of how many are now, in this precisely moment for example, suffering incest or being raped… by they skin color or sexual orientation. Think that all happen now, and not in pages of books, but in their real lives.
Well done to the writer, and I admire his courage to write this lovely and cruel book.
Quick note: kindle file (bought at the day 03/09/10, price almost 12 dollars, on Amazon.com) with problems. The conversion of the pdf file to kindle extension was not done right and this book has bugs. I understand the story, obviously, but I was a little annoyed paying 12 dollars to read a file with casual numbers appearing in the middle of paragraphs (probably the pdf file was numbered) and without right paragraph structure (mostly of the paragraphs are not justify).
No, I’m not saying that I hate this book, but the feeling I get reading it. Are you confused? Well, please think about something: you have your good live. Is not perfect, but you are happy, in a good house, with a loving one near you (family or a partner) trying to stay exactly as you are now… happy and enclosed in your perfect or almost perfect little world. So you are there and start to read this book, and all the walls that enclose you, the ones you created, fall down so hard that you stay chocked.
That’s what I hate so much. The feeling that I CAN do more to help this world became a better place... Is so sad, read a fiction book that is so realistic!
To who will read it, I just want to say that it's a remarkable book, and I was addicted to Brendan and Caspar love story… I cry so long, not for the suffering of this fictional characters, but thinking of how many are now, in this precisely moment for example, suffering incest or being raped… by they skin color or sexual orientation. Think that all happen now, and not in pages of books, but in their real lives.
Well done to the writer, and I admire his courage to write this lovely and cruel book.
Quick note: kindle file (bought at the day 03/09/10, price almost 12 dollars, on Amazon.com) with problems. The conversion of the pdf file to kindle extension was not done right and this book has bugs. I understand the story, obviously, but I was a little annoyed paying 12 dollars to read a file with casual numbers appearing in the middle of paragraphs (probably the pdf file was numbered) and without right paragraph structure (mostly of the paragraphs are not justify).
Read
August 20, 2015I have no idea how to rate this book. Not one - so I'm leaving it stateless. I could pick the thing apart quicker than an old jumper. It bordered between epic and ridiculous.
It seemed like the author started with one story, then decided that it wasn't enough so he added more pain and more horror and more atrocity. Parts of it were downright soul destroying. Characters were good or bad and melodrama ruled.
And yet... I couldn't stop reading. I loved Casper & Brendan and wanted them to be happy.
So no rating... but I'm going to read more about these guys and stick it under the label, guilty pleasure.
It seemed like the author started with one story, then decided that it wasn't enough so he added more pain and more horror and more atrocity. Parts of it were downright soul destroying. Characters were good or bad and melodrama ruled.
And yet... I couldn't stop reading. I loved Casper & Brendan and wanted them to be happy.
So no rating... but I'm going to read more about these guys and stick it under the label, guilty pleasure.
December 4, 2013
I have a whole list of things that annoyed me about this book:
For a start, there were characters called: Brendan, Brandon, Brad, Brent. It was like the author went through the baby names book and got stuck on 'Br'.
Quote: "Have you been avoiding me Brandon?" "It's Brendan, and no." She'd had sex with me, but she didn't even remember my name.
I'm not bloody surprised, I couldn't remember his name either!
The writing was pretty poor - all short sentences, loads of cliches, lots of tell not show.
So, why have I given it 3 stars? I dunno really. Despite all the annoyances, I quite enjoyed it. The plot was ok, and the characters were quite sweet - although borderline twee.
For a start, there were characters called: Brendan, Brandon, Brad, Brent. It was like the author went through the baby names book and got stuck on 'Br'.
Quote: "Have you been avoiding me Brandon?" "It's Brendan, and no." She'd had sex with me, but she didn't even remember my name.
I'm not bloody surprised, I couldn't remember his name either!
The writing was pretty poor - all short sentences, loads of cliches, lots of tell not show.
So, why have I given it 3 stars? I dunno really. Despite all the annoyances, I quite enjoyed it. The plot was ok, and the characters were quite sweet - although borderline twee.
September 29, 2009
I really wanted to like this book more than I did. Brendan and Casper were sweet characters, but the story was just a bit too much for me. The dramatic events would have had more impact had it only been a couple of them, but pretty much every horrible thing that could happen to this pair happened. It was just too much to be believable, which distracted from the story. And while I didn't mind the changing POV from Brendan and Casper, I thought the addition of Nathan and Ethan in the latter half was unnecessary.
Read
February 19, 2018DNF at 65%. Terrible.
April 13, 2013
The book was... Interesting. The first half was the standard "gay boy falls for high school quarterback and said quarterback turns out to be gay too" gay coming of age story, full of cliches that left me a bit bored. The addition of Casper's brother as a character mixed things up a bit, but in a way that made the book difficult to read because of the horrible things he did.
The second half of the book though... God. Mental hospitals, genital torturing, multiple suicides, dreams foretelling deranged killers on the loose hunting gay boys... The book was much more original and definitely not cliche after the halfway mark but... It was very difficult to read. I just wasn't expecting the last half of the book to be so damn depressing. Seriously, because of the dream foreshadowing, you spend like 25% of the book dreading the deaths of one or more major characters. The psychological horror in the novel makes me think that I would probably never recommend this book to anyone gay; far from being a helpful book, or escapist gay fantasy, or teaching us about the human condition, this book alternates between dredging up a horrific chapter in the history of American homophobia and describing some truly sadistic acts that happen to be performed on gay men who are largely powerless to resist.
The point is, the book's 1970s setting erases 40 years of gay rights struggles and serves only to depress gays and lesbians living in our more enlightened era. It is not very good as a historical novel because of the distracting presence of a sadistic murder in the book, and it is too cliche and slow-moving at first to be a good gay love story. The only thing keeping this abive a 1 star is the knowledge that some 1970s gay teens really did have to go through shit like mental hospitLs and running away from home, and their story deserves to be heard, even if this book obscures it with other things.
TL;DR: Don't read it unless you enjoy psychological horror with a poorly-executed homoerotic undertone.
The second half of the book though... God. Mental hospitals, genital torturing, multiple suicides, dreams foretelling deranged killers on the loose hunting gay boys... The book was much more original and definitely not cliche after the halfway mark but... It was very difficult to read. I just wasn't expecting the last half of the book to be so damn depressing. Seriously, because of the dream foreshadowing, you spend like 25% of the book dreading the deaths of one or more major characters. The psychological horror in the novel makes me think that I would probably never recommend this book to anyone gay; far from being a helpful book, or escapist gay fantasy, or teaching us about the human condition, this book alternates between dredging up a horrific chapter in the history of American homophobia and describing some truly sadistic acts that happen to be performed on gay men who are largely powerless to resist.
The point is, the book's 1970s setting erases 40 years of gay rights struggles and serves only to depress gays and lesbians living in our more enlightened era. It is not very good as a historical novel because of the distracting presence of a sadistic murder in the book, and it is too cliche and slow-moving at first to be a good gay love story. The only thing keeping this abive a 1 star is the knowledge that some 1970s gay teens really did have to go through shit like mental hospitLs and running away from home, and their story deserves to be heard, even if this book obscures it with other things.
TL;DR: Don't read it unless you enjoy psychological horror with a poorly-executed homoerotic undertone.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 2, 2017
This is the last time I pay for a book before getting a preview on it. I bought it on my kindle because I love young adult books and I love books about gay youth. It's hard for me to find anything quality or something that just isn't smut, and I made the mistake of thinking I might find what I needed from this book. I absolutely despised it. The plot was nice and the author obviously meant well but the overall writing quality was terrible. I couldn't stand his stilted sentences or his tired phrases. I couldn't count the times that tears flowed from someone's eyes or the amount of times that someone loved someone else so much that it hurt. I'm upset I spent the five dollars buying it for my kindle but I'm done and I learned a valuable lesson about the books I decide to read just due to subject matter.
March 14, 2011
This book was amazing because it was truly a gay romance novel in the purest form with high school teen angst. This story begins with high school football captain in love with the high school most bullied, abused, and poor boy. Suffice to say certain events in the book is shocking and these unfortunate events that occurred to the two main characters only made them better in retrospective. To be honest, I read the book in a time period of 2 weeks because the main character were so likable and I was absolutely devastated when terrible things happened to them that I couldn't bring myself to read it consequentially. This goes to show how excellent the portrayal of the characters are.
August 16, 2011
have not read all of Mark's books yet but I keep thinking I am going to catch up and then he comes out with a new one--out of the ones that I have read so far this is my favorite. I wish there had been someone writing books like this when I was a teenager back in the 60's
September 7, 2010
Thank you so much for helping me *wink* get this book, Camila. You don't know how grateful I am. I REALLY wanted this book, the plot sounds like just what I want in a M/M romance.
November 8, 2023
I'm honestly kinda dumbfounded by this book.
The story had potential right up to the middle, from there on it felt like the story didn't know what direction it wanted to go anymore.
The characters are stale and repetitive as the story progresses– and I mean that in the most literal way. Like genuinely reused assets.
And the brother, my GOD.
He was so over the top "super villain" (and for no apparent reason either) that it didn't feel well polished or whatever. He was an evil character just for the sake of it and nothing more. villains can have plot too!
It didn't get me invested at all, it was all just so cliche– And i must point out the many grammatical errors and typos too.
Its a bummer because I really enjoyed the first few pages, (despite the "super villain big brother" character) but it just turned out to be a waste.
Everything about this book is just so predictable and cheesy.
The story had potential right up to the middle, from there on it felt like the story didn't know what direction it wanted to go anymore.
The characters are stale and repetitive as the story progresses– and I mean that in the most literal way. Like genuinely reused assets.
And the brother, my GOD.
He was so over the top "super villain" (and for no apparent reason either) that it didn't feel well polished or whatever. He was an evil character just for the sake of it and nothing more. villains can have plot too!
It didn't get me invested at all, it was all just so cliche– And i must point out the many grammatical errors and typos too.
Its a bummer because I really enjoyed the first few pages, (despite the "super villain big brother" character) but it just turned out to be a waste.
Everything about this book is just so predictable and cheesy.
May 2, 2020
I love the book it has a way of giving you 100 and taking you back to 0. Making me anticipate what would happen next,crossing my fingers not knowing the turn of events,moving forward to know what would happen,one moment crying the next laughing. I am not yet done reading I simply dont know what would happen to Brendan an Casper. It's a great book
February 12, 2024
Part 1: 4/5 stars a great story
Part 2: 2/5 stars. I'm very confused. Suddenly around the 3/4 mark the plot veered suddenly and introduced a bunch of characters, changed whose perspective it was in, and became both a conclusion for this book and an epilogue for the last book in the series at the same time.
Part 2: 2/5 stars. I'm very confused. Suddenly around the 3/4 mark the plot veered suddenly and introduced a bunch of characters, changed whose perspective it was in, and became both a conclusion for this book and an epilogue for the last book in the series at the same time.
November 6, 2023
I would recommend this book to any one who love a good book.
I like this book very much. I bought
all Mr. Roeder's books from Amazon because I like the stories and style of writing.
I like this book very much. I bought
all Mr. Roeder's books from Amazon because I like the stories and style of writing.
September 20, 2018
I can't believe I was able to finish this. One of the worst books I've ever read. Too long, too repetitive, too angsty.
April 15, 2019
This was next level extra
December 21, 2023
This was a mess. Take a drink every time you read the word “however.”
Read
September 16, 2011I went back to read this novel by Mark Roeder since, having read Masked Destiny, I learned some info about one of the character, Brendan Brewer, that let me think it was a nice and sweet love story; in a way it’s and there is also a bit of “fairytale” feeling that makes it light, and on the contrary of Masked Destiny, there isn’t any paranormal event, making it an ordinary, and in this case ordinary is nice, coming of age story.
Brendan is the most popular kid at high school, quarterback of the football team, handsome and friendly, for a very wealthy family that allow him to have a nice car and all the last fashion available, Brendan is even more fascinating since he seems unaware of his good looks and fortune. Brendan has also a secret, but not really something that is causing him trouble: he is gay, and in his openness and yes, lucky youth, he has already realized it and decided it’s fine. Sure, Brendan is aware he cannot come out at school that it’s not easy, but more or less, he is fine.
Not the same for Casper; he is the poorest kid at school, and even worst, he is abused at home; his older brother has more than once abused him and he is still doing that. Most night Casper sleeps under the open sky to avoid being alone in the same room with his brother. In his young mind, Casper associates being gay with being abused, and so, when Brendan makes a move with him, Casper is scared to death.
But as I said, Brendan is such a nice boy that Casper in the end is able to trust him; their newfound happiness is destroyed by Brendan’s family and but the dramatic decision they take on their son’s fate. Again Brendan will prove to be strong and with a self-consciousness that is rare in such a young man; he will maintain the promise he did to Casper to protect him, whatever it will take.
I preferred the first part of the story, until Brendan and Casper are trying to find their path in life alone; I found the last part, when Brendan and Casper go to live with Ethan and Nathan (from Someone Is Watching) a little too similar to what I guess is Ethan and Nathan’s own story, almost a repetition. All in all, I think that, even if Casper is cuter and the one who needs more protection, even from the reader point of view, I think the best character was Brendan, I most of all loved how he is so open with his feelings and ready to love despite all the trouble it implies.
http://www.amazon.com/dp/145657390X/?...
Brendan is the most popular kid at high school, quarterback of the football team, handsome and friendly, for a very wealthy family that allow him to have a nice car and all the last fashion available, Brendan is even more fascinating since he seems unaware of his good looks and fortune. Brendan has also a secret, but not really something that is causing him trouble: he is gay, and in his openness and yes, lucky youth, he has already realized it and decided it’s fine. Sure, Brendan is aware he cannot come out at school that it’s not easy, but more or less, he is fine.
Not the same for Casper; he is the poorest kid at school, and even worst, he is abused at home; his older brother has more than once abused him and he is still doing that. Most night Casper sleeps under the open sky to avoid being alone in the same room with his brother. In his young mind, Casper associates being gay with being abused, and so, when Brendan makes a move with him, Casper is scared to death.
But as I said, Brendan is such a nice boy that Casper in the end is able to trust him; their newfound happiness is destroyed by Brendan’s family and but the dramatic decision they take on their son’s fate. Again Brendan will prove to be strong and with a self-consciousness that is rare in such a young man; he will maintain the promise he did to Casper to protect him, whatever it will take.
I preferred the first part of the story, until Brendan and Casper are trying to find their path in life alone; I found the last part, when Brendan and Casper go to live with Ethan and Nathan (from Someone Is Watching) a little too similar to what I guess is Ethan and Nathan’s own story, almost a repetition. All in all, I think that, even if Casper is cuter and the one who needs more protection, even from the reader point of view, I think the best character was Brendan, I most of all loved how he is so open with his feelings and ready to love despite all the trouble it implies.
http://www.amazon.com/dp/145657390X/?...
August 6, 2013
Brendan has a secret he's been hiding for a while; he's gay. He always knew he was born that way and has come to sort of accept it within himself, but can't yet bring himself to fully accept it or vocalize it. He's popular, he's good looking, he plays sports, and he can get almost any girl he wants. But he doesn't want them. He has a traditional and emotionally removed family whose love he wants more than anything and friends who he's afraid won't accept him if they were to know the truth.
Casper lives in an abusive home, is small, thin, is bullied every day, and has almost no self-esteem. He, too, is gay, but is afraid that he was turned that way--that it isn't natural and he wasn't born that way.
When Brendan stands up for Casper one day their lives intertwine and they become friends, growing closer and closer with the revealing of secrets and hopes and dreams. But when they are forced to leave their town and find a new place to live--a place where they will be accepted--their true challenge begins. They must fight for food, water, money, medicine etc., all while trying to find a roof to put over their heads.
They finally stumble upon a farm that's hiring helpers. But will it be a good place to live? Is it better than the homophobic town they lived in before?
The story is captivating at times. You fall for the drama, no matter how intense and seemingly implausible, and you want the characters to find happiness with each other. However, it's a story that boasts a theme of 'One True Love' with an underlying theme of 'Don't Worry This Will Turn Out Well.' You know from the start that no matter how bad things get that these two characters will find not just peace, but the perfect peace. Brendan and Casper are an unlikely couple, and you sometimes find yourself shaking your head at the writing and wondering why you can't put down a book that takes so many dramatic, soap-opera-like twists and turns. You wonder how people so different could be such good friends, and why Casper is immediately accepted among Brendan's friends. With that being said, I've read this book several times and it was a great book for my introduction to LGBT YA literature.
Casper lives in an abusive home, is small, thin, is bullied every day, and has almost no self-esteem. He, too, is gay, but is afraid that he was turned that way--that it isn't natural and he wasn't born that way.
When Brendan stands up for Casper one day their lives intertwine and they become friends, growing closer and closer with the revealing of secrets and hopes and dreams. But when they are forced to leave their town and find a new place to live--a place where they will be accepted--their true challenge begins. They must fight for food, water, money, medicine etc., all while trying to find a roof to put over their heads.
They finally stumble upon a farm that's hiring helpers. But will it be a good place to live? Is it better than the homophobic town they lived in before?
The story is captivating at times. You fall for the drama, no matter how intense and seemingly implausible, and you want the characters to find happiness with each other. However, it's a story that boasts a theme of 'One True Love' with an underlying theme of 'Don't Worry This Will Turn Out Well.' You know from the start that no matter how bad things get that these two characters will find not just peace, but the perfect peace. Brendan and Casper are an unlikely couple, and you sometimes find yourself shaking your head at the writing and wondering why you can't put down a book that takes so many dramatic, soap-opera-like twists and turns. You wonder how people so different could be such good friends, and why Casper is immediately accepted among Brendan's friends. With that being said, I've read this book several times and it was a great book for my introduction to LGBT YA literature.
September 15, 2010
I truly liked this book. The message was loud and clear and tugged at my heartstrings. I read so many wonderful reviews of this book and author that I was expecting a 10. Sad to say I didn't get the 10 I was expecting. I think the message of why we must learn tolerance and acceptance was one every teen should read whether gay or straight. In fact I gave this book to my teenage niece to read but I gave her a warning before starting it. I wanted her to remember that Casper was 15. Sometimes I forgot this, since the writing was so simplistic. It was hard to remember that he was 15 since most of the time he sounded as if he were a boy of 10-12. When a kiss or lovemaking would happen was the only time I was reminded that he was older and I cringed since I had an image of him in my head that didn't fit with some of the story. Emotionally Casper was even younger. It also bothered me when close to the end Casper and Branden began sharing a bed openly since it was now "no secret". Gay, straight, crooked, curved, I don't care the orientation I would think that most loved ones would not allow their 15 year old to sleep with anyone, they were in a relationship with, under their roof.
All in all I did like this book very much and would recommend it with the above warning. Though I think I loved the message more than the writing of that message. I think at times it became a little unbelievable and in my opinion might diminish the effect of that message in some people's eyes. I hope not.
All in all I did like this book very much and would recommend it with the above warning. Though I think I loved the message more than the writing of that message. I think at times it became a little unbelievable and in my opinion might diminish the effect of that message in some people's eyes. I hope not.
July 6, 2023
"A Better Place" is easy to like but hard to love. Before reading I had no prior knowledge that it was related to Roder's previous novel "Someone Is Watching." It has turned out that the two books are more than simply related -- it's more like they're two stories combined into one, and the puzzle fits quite perfectly for that matter.
What I loved about "A Better Place" is its straightforward and simple language and its plot that offers quite a heavy dose of surprises. What I didn't like too much is the constant shift of perspectives which doesn't always seem necessary. They throw me off at times. Overall, "A Better Place", for me, is a very enjoyable read, though it doesn't make me think much. Part of the novel resembles "Someone Is Watching" too much, and even within the novel itself, repetitive stuff (especially in Part 2 of the book) happens often that gives people a feeling that it's dragging toward its end without something new to write about.
"A Better Place" is the story of Brendan and Casper, an unlikely couple who know each other in high school, and who begin an amazing adventure which I'm not going to spoil here. If you enjoy a simply writing style and a story full of surprises and a romance with a dark side, this is the one for you.
What I loved about "A Better Place" is its straightforward and simple language and its plot that offers quite a heavy dose of surprises. What I didn't like too much is the constant shift of perspectives which doesn't always seem necessary. They throw me off at times. Overall, "A Better Place", for me, is a very enjoyable read, though it doesn't make me think much. Part of the novel resembles "Someone Is Watching" too much, and even within the novel itself, repetitive stuff (especially in Part 2 of the book) happens often that gives people a feeling that it's dragging toward its end without something new to write about.
"A Better Place" is the story of Brendan and Casper, an unlikely couple who know each other in high school, and who begin an amazing adventure which I'm not going to spoil here. If you enjoy a simply writing style and a story full of surprises and a romance with a dark side, this is the one for you.
March 26, 2015
Warning that this is a contemporary M/M romance set in high school with a lot of child abuse of every kind from family members and I was not prepared for this traumatic story before I started it.
Wow. I almost could not finish this although the first part was very shocking, the second part was also because I had assumed that we were going to just set up the HEA for Casper and Brendan, but there was still some serious issues to deal with. I did like that every administrative step took days, weeks and months which put a realistic spin to this very sad story which does find a way to make a better life for some gay boys. Casper is a skinny haunted abused poor guy that falls in love with the high school football captain super rich popular (deeply in the closet) Brendan, and at first the reader can see that they are completely different opposites, but by half way through the story we see that both boys raised themselves with dead or just apathetic parents.
Tough read because there is a lot of child abuse and upsetting situations (rape, fights, death threats and murder). I would call this sensual because there are not any hard core sexy scenes between the boys, but there is so much sexual abuse that this is not at 'clean' level.
332 pages and kindle freebie
2 stars
Wow. I almost could not finish this although the first part was very shocking, the second part was also because I had assumed that we were going to just set up the HEA for Casper and Brendan, but there was still some serious issues to deal with. I did like that every administrative step took days, weeks and months which put a realistic spin to this very sad story which does find a way to make a better life for some gay boys. Casper is a skinny haunted abused poor guy that falls in love with the high school football captain super rich popular (deeply in the closet) Brendan, and at first the reader can see that they are completely different opposites, but by half way through the story we see that both boys raised themselves with dead or just apathetic parents.
Tough read because there is a lot of child abuse and upsetting situations (rape, fights, death threats and murder). I would call this sensual because there are not any hard core sexy scenes between the boys, but there is so much sexual abuse that this is not at 'clean' level.
332 pages and kindle freebie
2 stars
July 7, 2013
Now I do not think this is a bad book and I would recommend to others, especially if you get it on sale. Roeder's writing style is in need of a serious editor. He was all over the place and at times it was hard to follow or muster up the energy to follow. I know that sounds harsh and I do not mean for it to be. The tale of Casper and Brendan is a sweet coming of age story but the intense drama experienced by both characters was a bit unrealistic and a bit contrived. The story could have used some editing. I am not doubting that some of the horrific things that occurred in the story occur, but all at the same time. Towards the end of the book we are introduced to two more principle characters, Nathan and Ethan, with their baggage and lo and behold it was hard for this reader to relate to any of them...perhaps the tornado. Just kidding...though I am not giving this tale a rave review, I do see where and what Roeder was trying to do...but I think there was way too much. The book could have been broken into a series which would have allowed for more insight into the real life drama's presented. Of course, this is just my take...
November 15, 2013
I had high expectations for this one, however I'm sorry to say it didn't live up to them. The book started off with potential…a good story was building along with some interesting and colourful characters. In the end I found the story to be a bit scattered…the introduction of additional characters a third of the way through the book was not well executed and I found the characters lacked development and interest. Casper and Nathan could've been the same person, as could've Ethan and Brendan. There were no defining traits that stood out making the latter half of the book confusing and somewhat annoying. Roeder's writing was often repetitive and predictable. In the end I thought the overall story was okay, but lacked passion. I would love to read a book just about Casper…to delve into his world more and gain insight into his brother, Jason. Based on this book I would not read another by Roeder.
January 22, 2012
While I tried to like it, it just didn't sit well with me. I liked what it was trying to achieve, there were just a couple of things that didn't work with me. I really liked the previous two in the series Soccer Field and Someone is Watching. This book seemed poorly written even if it was written with high school age in mind. There was a lot of extraordinary things that happened. One or two things I'd be ok with it, but combined it was a bit much. I liked the addition of Nathan and Ethan at the end, but it would have been nice to keep the perspective to Brendon and Casper. I wouldn't have been happy paying $10 (going rate for Kindle) for it, but luckily it was offered in the Kindle Lending library program.
September 25, 2011
I can't get through this book.
It has a good plot and I was eager to read it to see the underprivileged triumph against all odds, but does this author even know how to write? Or is the book being dumbed down to better sound like a juvenile boy? The writing is so poor I can't even make it to page 30. One example was that the kid was comparing how one boy looked like someone else. Except he was better built. And taller. And he had dark hair. And his eyes were blue. No...that would mean he looked nothing like the other boy.
Sorry for the rant. Just really disappointed that I have to abandon a book that showed promise.
It has a good plot and I was eager to read it to see the underprivileged triumph against all odds, but does this author even know how to write? Or is the book being dumbed down to better sound like a juvenile boy? The writing is so poor I can't even make it to page 30. One example was that the kid was comparing how one boy looked like someone else. Except he was better built. And taller. And he had dark hair. And his eyes were blue. No...that would mean he looked nothing like the other boy.
Sorry for the rant. Just really disappointed that I have to abandon a book that showed promise.
July 8, 2012
what do you do when you fall in love with a boy that is being abused and neglected by his family, when your parents send you to a mental hospital you cure you of being gay. where the sickest thing in the place is the guards.
Well, you escape, grab the guy and run as hard as fast and as far a you can in search of a better place. and theres nothing that you wont do to keep your love save.
Mark Roeder writes the gay youth chronicles. a series of books looking at relationships, bullying, depression, and suicide. So highly relavent to todays youth.
this was the first of marks books that i have read but I think i will be reading more
Well, you escape, grab the guy and run as hard as fast and as far a you can in search of a better place. and theres nothing that you wont do to keep your love save.
Mark Roeder writes the gay youth chronicles. a series of books looking at relationships, bullying, depression, and suicide. So highly relavent to todays youth.
this was the first of marks books that i have read but I think i will be reading more
February 25, 2013
The writing is repetitive, the characterizations are trite, and the first half of the plot feels like a rip-off of Todd Brown's Entries from a Hot Pink Notebook. That is a much, much better book about being poor and coming out in a small town in the 1980s, and I would recommend that you read it instead.
Also, I really didn't need to be told that the main character is poor and skinny every other page. It wasn't just telling instead of showing, it was telling, and telling, and telling again.
Also, I really didn't need to be told that the main character is poor and skinny every other page. It wasn't just telling instead of showing, it was telling, and telling, and telling again.
May 28, 2011
I love this book! It was very emotional charged and perhaps if I hadn't seen things like this happen, I wouldn't believe that such bad things could happen to a person over and over. The characters draw you in and even while you are screaming at them not to think a certain way, you get why they do. Those that are familiar with abuse certainly do. However because of the age of one of the characters 15, I kind of had a hard time with the happy ending but perhaps the other books later on will help me with that. All together I'd put this at my top twenty books.
October 8, 2012
From the momment I opened up this book I fell in love with the characters Casper and Brandan. As they struggled to be together. I have never cried as much as I did reading this book. I spend two days straight doing little beyond reading this book and was hooked on the series. Mark Roeder has found the voice of the young gay teen and captures it with depth and compasion without coming off as predictable or shallow. The joy of reading this book is you care for the characters and what happens to them. I always look forward to the sequels and find out what happens next in Verona.
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