Boy Toy by Barry Lyga

Josh Mendel’s life is a mess, and he’s drowning just trying to sort it out. As a high school senior, he’s got monumental college decisions to decide. As a baseball star, he faces pressure from his coach and the biggest game of the season, heck, his life. But that’s not why Josh is falling apart. Five years ago, when he was only twelve years old, something happened that changed his life forever, and not for the better. His secrets went public, he hurt and was hurt by so many others, and he lost the ability to reason right from wrong, good from bad. He feels ashamed of himself; he thinks he is damaged. He can’t allow himself to be close to his friend Rachel because memories of another woman still haunt him. Josh’s story, though heartbreaking, is one of redemption and self-forgiveness.

There is something very disturbing about Boy Toy, especially with its difficult topic of sexual predation, yet at the same time, it is a gripping story I couldn’t put down. Josh’s character was so well created. There is something so sad and fragile about him that draws the reader in and sparks curiosity about the incident that drastically altered Josh. Some more minor characters had depth as well, especially the story’s villain to my surprise, which I appreciated, but others, however, felt like total strangers to me. Emotions and emotional response were a huge part of the story, and not only for the characters, but for the reader as well; there were times I just wanted to cry for Josh and others when I gasped with disgust. My initial reaction after reading Boy Toy was something along the lines of, “Wow, that was so wrong,” but I actually really liked this novel. I didn’t like much of the content, but I enjoyed the psychological journey Josh went through and the overarching message of hope strong enough to rise above anything, no matter how horrible.

Boy Toy is one of the best written novels on this difficult subject. Fans of Living Dead Girl by Elizabeth Scott, Identical by Ellen Hopkins, and The Missing Girl by Norma Fox Mazer will also enjoy this story. I definitely look forward to reading more from Lyga as well.

Rating: 4.75

Review copy from Amazon Vine