Boy Toy, by Barry Lyga
Lyga, Barry (2007). Boy Toy. Boston: Houghton Mifflin. 416 pages.
When Josh, the high school senior who narrates this new novel from Fan Boy and Goth Girl author Barry Lyga, was twelve years old, he entered a sexual relationship with his young and attractive history teacher. Their relationship lasted almost a year; however, the emotional residue of this experience still clings to Josh. The details of Josh’s “grooming” are related in a flashback narrative in the middle of the novel, though brief “flickers” of his experience pop up throughout the narrative.
As someone who didn’t see what all the hype around Fan Boy and Goth Girl was all about, I wasn’t prepared to enjoy this well-crafted and thoughtful novel of abuse and its aftermath. Frankly, given the recent attention to similar “real world” incidents, I expected some cheap exploitation. Like Catherine Atikins’ brilliant When Jeff Comes Home, this book deals realistically with the complexities of sexual abuse and exploitation and, like Atkins’ book, by casting a male as its protagonist, effectively challenges gender stereotypes related to sexual victimization. Furthermore, by confronting Josh’s feelings of complicity, the novel takes on the popularized issue of female on male sexual abuse and reveals it for the (frankly) fucked up fantasy it has become.
That said, I thought the end of the novel tied up a bit too quickly (in a scene of sudden but important revelation that, in the context of the greater book, seemed to resolve Josh’s psychological dilemma in a rather pat way). That said (again!), the parallel plot dealing with Josh’s parents’ disintegrating marriage was realistically depicted and added further depth to the story. This was a strong novel with well-developed secondary (and even tertiary) characters that makes a powerful political statement.
Posted on November 25, 2007 at 8:57 pm
I totally get what you mean about Lyga and his female characters. I thought Rachel, especially, served more of a purposeful rather than literary role as a character. That would really be my primary complaint about the novel and, since she is a pretty important figure in the novel, this is a kinda big complaint. Also, the scene with the teacher at the end (yeah, I’m spoiling it a bit) was more functional than realistic.
That said, I didn’t find Josh as abhorrent as the typical Vizzini protagonist, but I can see some parallels between the types.
Posted on November 25, 2007 at 8:24 pm
I find your review very interesting, especially since you did not like Fanboy.
I liked Fanboy, but I could not get through this one.
The parts discussing the abuse are mature and realistic. But I could not stand Josh as a character — I found him incredibly arrogant. I do not like characters that are constantly reminding the reader how smart and talented they are (Ned Vizzini anyone?).
I also feel like Barry Lyga has yet to write a realistic female character. I feel like this novel, as well as Fanboy is just too full of female characters that screw up the mens’ lives in one way or another. I think he needs to expand his writing in that area in a major way.
But your review has me thinking that perhaps I should take another look.