Review by New York Times Review
Looming images of a semitrailer at the window and a clock reading 4 a.m. begin this appealing portrait of a dad who works behind the wheel "Daddy leaves before I wake up. Daddy drives to work," a small boy tells us, though dad really drives for work, carrying refrigerator-size boxes in his 18-wheeler to who knows where. Predawn scenes of almost empty highways convey the mystery of work on the road, and at dusk there's the joy of return. #+ |9780547076348 |9780618723935 ~ A teenager is haunted by an affair with his teacher. BARRY LYGA'S new novel, "Boy Toy," takes one of the more uncomfortable themes of young adult literature - a sexual relationship between an adult and a minor - and pushes it past the genre's farthest boundaries. This is an upsetting, intense, intricately drawn portrait of the fallout from a 12-year-old boy's involvement with his seventh-grade teacher. Sexual transgressions come in all forms in young adult literature. R.A. Nelson's eerie "Teach Me" (2005) explored an 18-year-old student's violent obsessions after an affair with her teacher. In last year's "Gone," by Kathleen Jeffrie Johnson, a high-school graduate sleeps with his former teacher the summer after his senior year. At first glance, Josh Mendel, the narrator of "Boy Toy," seems an unlikely type for an obsession with an older woman. He's a math whiz who's gotten straight A's since the third grade and has a top batting average on the baseball field. But Lyga fuses Josh's outwardly aggressive jock sensibility with an inner fragility - similar to the geeky isolation of the hero in his well-received first novel, "The Astonishing Adventures of Fanboy and Goth Girl" (2006) - and creates something unexpected. Any assumptions we might make about Josh's character are upended by the story's conclusion. The novel's action moves between past and present as Josh, now a senior, struggles to tell his story to Rachel, a girl he nearly victimized himself just before the affair with his teacher, Eve, was discovered: "How can I describe it? I'm a completely different person now. It's a different world. Eve's 30 and free and a registered sex offender, and me? I'm just muddling through, hitting the ball, slamming straight A's, doing all the easy things in life." Eve had been sent to prison, but at the beginning of the novel Josh learns that she's getting out. Now even a trip to the local market turns into a panic attack when he thinks he sees her: "I thought it was over, but it's not. She's out now. She could be here. ... She could be anywhere." Josh's memories of the episode with Rachel (a make-out session spun out of control), like those of his encounters with Eve, are haunting and fragmented. What specifically happened is unclear to the reader and even to Josh, but Rachel's screams and the evidence in his hands (her torn underwear) were enough to leave him overwhelmed with guilt, and, in his own mind at least the "school pariah." Now he's working hard to get a baseball scholarship to college, and he and Rachel are, oddly, rekindling their relationship - if only he could shake the obsessive flashbacks to Eve. Those flashbacks are full of a teenage awe and passion that may cause many readers to raise an eyebrow. The language suggests that Josh was in love with Eve, but the reader can feel only an intense disquiet. Lyga seems to suggest that intentions are everything, especially Eve's, but the reader never gets much of a fix on her motives. In a culture so saturated with sex, where 16-year-old Jamie Lynn Spears's pregnancy is common knowledge to fifth graders, what are teenagers to make of this book? What Lyga gives only glimpses of, through Josh's difficulty connecting to Rachel (or almost anyone else in his life), is the collateral damage caused by child abuse. Still, the novel vividly explores the gray areas between love, lust, right and wrong. Josh has nearly convinced himself that he bears the responsibility for the affair with Eve, rather than the other way round - until he's finally able to end that chapter for good. "Boy Toy" is an unsettling read, but that's exactly what it ought to be. / Barry Lyga's novel explores the gray areas between love, lust, right and wrong. / Jack Martin is the assistant coordinator of young adult services at the New York Public Library.
Copyright (c) The New York Times Company [October 27, 2009]
Review by Booklist Review
In this large-format picture book, a boy describes what his father, a truck driver, does all day. Waking up at 4 a.m., the man looks in on his sleeping son before he leaves for work. After his trailer is loaded, he drives his big rig down the highway, stops for lunch, makes his deliveries, refuels, and heads for home to play catch with his son. Graphically more sophisticated than most books on trucks, the artwork features clean lines, even shading, and strong compositions. People are most often shown as shadowy figures, their faces unreadable or even cropped out of the compositions. The double-page pictures illustrate brief sentences and phrases, leaving plenty of space for talking about details in the pictures. Recommended for the many young children intrigued by trucks, this picture book offers large illustrations of a powerful red truck hauling two different trailers as well as a chance to ride along with the driver for a day.--Phelan, Carolyn Copyright 2008 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Clement makes a noteworthy picture book debut with this day-in-the-life story of a trucker, as told through the eyes and succinct words of his young son. Aficionados of the truck genre won't find any big surprises here in terms of the shape of the story-Daddy is a skilled, unfailingly polite and conscientious driver. "Daddy's on time," notes the boy after his father is shown taking a coffee break at a truck stop, "because there is more work to do," and while Daddy is up before dawn, he makes it back home in time to play a sunset game of backyard ball. It's Clement's visual storytelling that sets this book apart, and gives many of the images all the power of a six-cylinder, 16.1-liter diesel engine. Working in big, streamlined shapes; flat, bright colors; and shiny, airbrushed-like surfaces, he evokes a deco-esque world where the combustion engine reigns supreme and humans and trucks are closely related species. Unusual and often cinematic perspectives-a thigh-high view of Daddy gripping the gear shift, a bumper's-eye view of a traffic jam-plunge readers into the action and give the compositions a red-blooded energy. Some kids may still find the pictures a bit chilly, especially as the face of Daddy and other people are never seen. But most will take one look at his awesome truck, his strong hands and his beefy physique, and see all the makings of a hero. Ages 2-8. (Feb.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by School Library Journal Review
PreS-Gr 1-A boy describes what his father does all day as he drives a large red rig. The stark graphic-style art features glossy, candy-apple red for the truck and bold black and gray shades for the road and tires. Even though the minimal text expresses the warm, loving sentiment of a father and child playing at the end of the day, the strong angular lines in the illustrations leave viewers with a cold, detached feel. The text is printed in a large, clear font, with simple declarative sentences that will encourage youngsters to read for themselves. Supplemental fare where additional vehicle picture books are needed.-Blair Christolon, Prince William Public Library System, Manassas, VA (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Horn Book Review
Daddy leaves before I wake up...When his trailer is full, he's ready to drive." A child describes his trucker dad's typical workday, which includes hauling gear, waving at kids in cars, and eating at a diner; the day ends with a father-son game of catch. The slick digital art diminishes the story's warmth, but truckaholics won't mind. (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted. All rights reserved.
(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
Striking graphics accompany a child's narration of a truck-driving dad's day at work, from his departure before dawn to his arrival home at the end of the day. The simple text advances spread by spread, describing both the work--loading freight and navigating traffic--and the person performing it--watching out for others and always saying hello. An ever-varying sequence of images both in and out of the cab add up to a total truck experience for the reader; the father's face is never shown clearly, allowing every truck-loving toddler to imagine his own dad's--or, perhaps, his own--facial features superimposed on it. The images and sans-serif typeface are reminiscent of Donald Crews in their boldness and simplicity, perspective and angle emphasizing the immensity of the truck and the heroism of its working-class driver. Indeed, in its strong, steady lines and depiction of a deeply pastoral Midwest, this offering could well be seen as the Great American Truck Book. (Picture book. 2-6) Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
