Books I've Read: Invisible Boys

 

Set in Western Australia in a small town out of Perth, this book follows three very different boys who all share a secret: they're gay.  And being gay in this particular town, and especially at the Catholic school they all go to, is definitely not something you want people to know.

But somehow, over the course of the school year, all three are outed in different ways and have to deal with the fallout of this.

Charlie is a rocker and knows he's gay.  He doesn't advertise it, but wears his outsider status like a badge of pride.  Zeke, on the other hand, prefers to hide, always in the shadow of his popular, outgoing older brother.  And Hammer, the school footy star wears his masculinity as proudly as Charlie wears his difference.  He's certain his homosexuality is a phase he'll outgrow.  But is it?

This is a heavy book that confronts the bigotry of small town life, the ways boys are brought up to think about themselves as men and many other important topics.  The characters are so well drawn it's easy to understand them and the way they act and react in the different situations they find themselves in/

The world they live in is equally well drawn.  I can practically feel the heat rising from the pavement as the boys move through town on summer days, smell the melting tar on the road, the scent of barbecued sausages lingering in the air.

So I'd recommend this one.  It's not an easy read in some ways - it deals with suicide among other heavy topics - but I can't help thinking that if a book like this had existed when I was growing up, it would have helped a whole lot of boys I knew.

But don't just listen to me.  Here's the blurb:

In a small town, everyone thinks they know you: Charlie is a hardcore rocker, who's not as tough as he looks. Hammer is a footy jock with big AFL dreams, and an even bigger ego. Zeke is a shy over-achiever, never macho enough for his family. But all three boys hide who they really are. When the truth is revealed, will it set them free or blow them apart?

Invisible Boys is a raw, confronting YA novel, tackling homosexuality, masculinity, anger and suicide with a nuanced and unique perspective. Set in regional Western Australia, the novel follows three sixteen-year-old boys in the throes of coming to terms with their homosexuality in a town where it is invisible – and so are they. Invisible Boys depicts the complexities and trauma of rural gay identity with painful honesty, devastating consequence and, ultimately, hope.