Ethan Poe, 16 and gay, struggles to maintain balance in his increasingly chaotic life. His parents are divorcing, his brother Kyle is damaging his own right hand in the name of purity, and his best friend is a Jesus freak who prays for him to be straight. He's just starting to see light in the form of Max Modine, a boy he wants to know much better than he does, when his rural Maine town begins to explode around him. Against his intentions he gets pulled into a pitched conflict about whether to introduce Intelligent Design into science classrooms.
Friendships end, families are torn apart, and the school becomes a battleground. And soon Ethan must decide how far he's willing to go to protect what he believes.
A small town's school board election focusing on the teaching of Evolution or Creationism (Intelligent Design") is the backdrop for this engaging and emotional tale of a sixteen year old gay boy dealing with life's issues, including the separation of his parents, an older brother with a strange mental condition, coming out to his parents, dealing with a crush on a boy he likes (but who seems to have some issues about being gay), while trying to "blend in" at school and avoid any unnecessary clashes with classmates or teachers.
Through his liberal mother, Ethan gets involved in helping her friend, Etta's, campaign for the school board, and finds her to be a valuable role model in dealing with conflict in his own life, as well as opening his eyes to much of the world he had long taken for granted, and he admires her stand on wanting the teaching to be based on science, not religious faith. Unfortunately, local churches encourage their followers to oppose Etta's stand, and the campaign gets heated, resulting in Etta, Ethan and his mother losing friends and fearing they may be harmed by overzealous Creationists. At the same time, Ethan's brother, Kyle, faces a health crisis, which threatens to tear his family apart for good.
Ms. Reardon is one of the best authors of relevant, engaging young adult gay fiction, and this one especially would appeal to many who are considerably older than that demographic. It addresses issues that gay people can deal with throughout life, such as spirituality, a sense of community, tolerance, and dealing with those who have conservative values that may seem as a threat to our very existence. I personally found it encouraging and uplifting on several levels, and recommend it highly. Four stars out of four.
Great novel can be appreciated by all ages.
